Pursuing Justice (and a giveaway)

I don’t know about you, but when I see statistics like “27 million trapped in slavery” and “884 million without access to clean water”, I feel so overwhelmed that I just want to close my eyes, stick my fingers in my ears, and pretend like I never heard anything about it.  I can’t fix the world, so what’s the point?

I walk around, living life by the golden rule, and that seems like enough.  Only, as Ken Wytsma points out in Pursuing Justice, I’m not living by the golden rule at all.  I’m living by something much less, the silver rule.  See, the golden rule tells us to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  But what am I doing?  

There’s a crucial difference between “doing good” and “not doing bad”.  By being a nice person, taking care of my family, and not intentionally harming others, I am living the silver rule.  I am living in apathy.

And here’s the thing.  It’s so easy to become apathetic.  Justice has become trendy.  There are thousands of great causes, and through social media, we are constantly bombarded by the latest and greatest way to help.  We develop what is called compassion fatigue.  I know I’ve been there.  And I’ve probably driven some of you there at certain times (hopefully not all the time).

On the other end of the spectrum, many times we hear about a certain cause and are hit with the “fierce urgency of now.”  We learn about a certain injustice and have to do something, anything, NOW.  Without the proper education or training however, sometimes we make an even bigger mess of the situation, or of ourselves.

What if we could find a proper course of action?  Something more than inaction, something better than foolish action?

To do that, we have to redeem and energize the concept of justice.  Take it back from “fad” status.  Start from a solid foundation.  Learn that we are uniquely designed to make a difference.  That’s what this book, Pursuing Justice is all about.

It means that God, who is perfectly just, and who desires justice for all of His creation, can ask us to use our unique talents and passions and experiences to pursue justice.  Wherever we find ourselves, we can make a difference — and that difference starts with understanding more about what justice really is.

Apathy is tiring, fierce urgency is exhausting.  I’m ready to pursue true justice.  And to raise my kids by the golden, not the silver rule.

If you feel the same way, I would urge you to get this book.  It will light a fire in you that is much more than a trendy spark that will soon die out.  By the time you’re finished reading, there will be a fire burning in your heart that will move you out of apathy and into pure joy.

Pursuing Justice | Book Trailer from The Justice Conference on Vimeo.

This giveaway has ended.

Disclosure: I was provided a free copy of this book to review.  All opinions are my own.