Bangladesh.
What are our opportunities and responsibilities as Christians in the Western world in 2006? We look at the book of Esther and draw parallels between Esther's situation and our own.
Esther's situation
She was just one woman. She had been unaware of the problem, but now the reality hit home. The threat of injustice loomed large: thousands of innocent men, women and children were under sentence of death.
What could she do? The whole power of the state was ranged against her. To speak up was to risk her life. Much safer to stay quiet, unnoticed.
But she had the perfect opportunity, her own unique qualifications. She had access to the person with ultimate power. All this created an awesome responsibility and a weighty moral pressure. ‘Who knows,’ said Mordecai to Queen Esther, ‘but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?’
There are interesting parallels between Esther’s situation and our own. There’s the moment when we realise the global reality of injustice that takes a heavy toll, every day, in the deaths of men, women and defenceless children.
But what can one person do?
It is easy to feel woefully inadequate in the face of such a challenge. So, like Esther, we may need to be reminded of our opportunities, our qualifications – and even responsibilities. A democracy offers us countless openings to raise our voice, put pen to paper, to act in the name of justice for others.
And Christians too have a royal position, children of the King of Kings, able to enter his presence without fear. He even promises the Holy Spirit will give us the right words when we want to speak up to him for others!
We can see the injustices around the world that need to be tackled. The chains of debt that remain. The rules of world trade that work against the poorest nations. The painfully slow moves towards peace in many countries.
As tensions around the world run high, individual Christians and whole communities are facing persecution, imprisonment and death.
Encouragement
But there are other ‘signs of the times’ to take into account.
For the first time in history governments are agreeing together to reduce poverty. What’s more, ordinary people have helped bring change: individuals released from prison; children in school in Uganda because of debt relief; the Water Matters petition helping to secure a commitment to providing sanitation for millions of people.
A Tearfund survey asked what people thought were the barriers that inhibited other Christians from speaking up against injustice. One of the common suggestions was that some Christians needed to be convinced that this was a biblical priority.
That is why we have produced the Speak up Bible study course. We want people wholly committed to Christ to be able to express their commitment to justice across God’s world. Because who knows? You may have come to a royal position for such a time as this.
To find out more about what the Bible says about speaking up for the poor and campaigning use the Speak up Bible study course.