Practical Justice: Fixing the Local Pond

Fixing a dirty nasty pond means you have to aware of the fact it is dirty in the first place. This book did not go into much detail as to why it choose to title the chapter this but i can see the reason.

Obviously this pond above is not able to support life other than foliage and specific algae and bacteria that can grow and thrive in dark conditions. Most of those types of bacteria and life forms are unhealthy for those relying on the pond for water and fish and even simply making their home beautiful. Before the pond has any hope of becoming clean or fixed the owner or a person must see the pond is dirty. However the severity of how dirty a person sees the pond varies greatly and the actual moment a person sees the pond is dirty also varies. For example, a person directly involved with water conservation or environmental sciences would quickly see this pond as unhealthy and needing repair while the owner of the property the pond may be on might take longer to realize or even never realize that the pond is dirty and harming anything or anyone for that matter. It is simply there. Or even worse...an owner of a pond is getting allowing people to wash their clothes or get water from the pond at a slight cost because it is the only place to get water from. The pond's natural filtration system is destroyed due to a natural event and quickly fills with bacteria, algae, and parasites. The owner of the pond is still getting cash income from those needing water thus does not see a problem with the pond. The people using the water are becoming sick and dirty because of the only water available to drink and use. Even when a few villagers who use the water make a mention of the pond, the own says there is water in it is there not? In reality, the owner chooses not see it. If he admits to seeing it, then he will have to fix it even if he has the money or resources to fix it.

How awful is that? The owner, obviously wealthy if he has land with a pond, would not change the circumstances to improve the lives of the villagers using his resource! If this were true, would this anger you? Here is an example from the book (pg 80). What are your emotions after hearing this?

A Broken System
Lisa grew up in an urban area that was mainly Latino and Anglo. This area as Lisa was growing up was beginning to grow in Asian population. Before Lisa was close to driving age, their family's car insurance rates went up tremendously. Lisa's mom called the insurance company many times to try to get the answer for the increased rates. One said it was the entire city, but one accidentally stated it was just that section of the city.Then Lisa's mom called and was answered by one very open customer service agent for that insurance company. Maybe he didn't agree with what was happening or he simply had a large mouth when he responded with: "well, the rates are increasing because your section of the city is becoming more Chinese rapidly.." So what about the hike? "Well, due to the slant of their eyes, Chinese people have poor peripheral vision. They are a greater risk to insure because they are more apt to get into accidents."

My first response was to laugh! Your's may have been the same or angry and frustrated at the system. Guess what this happens more than we realize and I admit I have been blinded to this issue for long time. Click this link to see another example of how social injustice happens locally.

Look at our system today. There are many pond owners that are not willing to share their resources for the betterment of a group of people. Who are the first people to have their homes removed due to an interstate being built? Which group of people will be targeted by INS even if they are legally allowed to work? Who typically writes the history books? How do change this?

I wish I could share this entire chapter with you but you really should read it!!

A broken system is not new. The bible has many examples of when the justice system was flawed or needed change. Read Amos. He calls to God for justice in the justice system.

Changing the System
This is going to take three requirements:

1. Time
2. Effort
3. Engagement

Time: you need to put time into your research, time into your community, time into community meetings, time will be taken away. Are you worried or care enough to make time? Time for me is a scary word because I dont usually have the time or I think I have the time and then I do not. (The joys of school)

Effort: you have to do research, you have read and understand your community or government. Where does your local government prevent resources for those living on low-wages? Where does your government help those on low-incomes? How are the school provided for? Are all school systems or area equally funded or provided for? 

Engagement: Go to the town hall meetings, discuss with those about change or ways to change a system. Work with an organization, a church group, an after school program. Maybe even create your own. A wonderful example of how a church was involved in helping a deadly street intersection near-by showed how the church could be involved with the state successfully. However that changed when they realized that a prominent member of the church would be greatly affected if they pushed for a new road system. Instead of looking for solutions, they crumbled and settled with simply providing aid to victims and then support to families who lost lives. Nothing in the book described if the pond owner threatened or simply said no or what, however because of one business and one connection in the church, the church stopped trying to save ppl's lives and kept quiet while putting people in danger.  Engagement is risky, just like effort, and time, you will lose much. It is up to you and God to determine if it is worth the cost.

My boyfriend has been so patient in opening up my eyes to the corruptness of this world and even this country. This book even further pushes this point. Why could I have not been open to this before? With America holding on to 50% of the worlds wealth but only 6.3% of the world's population, it is hard not to be greedy and desire to keep that status. I obviously do not know all that America has done in regards to controlling countries and others for gain, but I am putting more trust into the whistle-blowers of the past, current and those to arise during the future. Yet it is still hard for me to reason with, truly comprehend, and deal with what has been told to me. Why? because of the "idealistic slogans" and of course national pride. I have grown up with it and have seen it on all of the news channels. When truth like how the government meddles in the lives of the oppressed and then other countries for economic gain it is hard. It's against what my brain has solidified as fact. I become frustrated and its hard I want to defend what I know even if its very little or does not hold up to presented facts. Many feelings are hurt. It takes time to understand and be open and active in finding the truth.

What About God?
Kevin ends this book on a key message and one that is only possible through God's wisdom and guidance:

"If we engage what is going on in the world, we must accept that things will be messy and there will be great suffering. But though we fully engage in this world, our HOPE does not rest upon it."

My life verse applies to this post more than I realized and a verse I need to apply to my life.

"Do not conform any longer to the patter of this world 

but be transformed by the renewing of your MIND."

 Romans 12:2

Practical Justice: Teaching a Man to Fish

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

The book opens up with a story of Nihm who lived in the slums of Bangkok, Thailand on purpose! She set out to teach the families how to save money to buy their own plot of land. She specifically set out in this area because a highways was planned to be built in the middle of the slums and everything the families owned would be lost. As the book mentions saving was unheard of in these areas and I am sure understanding how a bank works or having a saving account was also hard to obtain. Nihm however helped over 60 families save money and work with a government program to obtain loans.

I noticed that Nihm's work and efforts had a pattern. She started by being open about herself and sharing her life with the families first. They eventually would open to her. (you can not force trust and openness) She then told them about how God led her through her problems and taught her skills necessary for life and the desire to show others. Although this did not lead to everyone accepting Christ, many families learned to save ( a skill) and change their lives by owning property. many people came to know Jesus and the gospel because of  Nihm's the personal involvement. 

Kevin also stresses the importance of teaching children while they are young. "Research shows that children who fall behind early in school tend to drop out eventually." While my first thought was CAPSTONE project idea!! My other thoughts that followed were the many ways I could fit my occupational therapy degree into this community need! What are ways children fall behind in school? lack of understand of the subject, lack of confidence in school due to lack of success, lack of family support, etc. I could provide opportunities for educational success for these children and suggest and offer resources to the family to promote better learning support. Handwriting camps or programs are notoriously known for increasing confidence in school and vision skills needed for reading. Other than that this increased a desire in me to participate in programs or organizations in which children have opportunities to learn life skills needed for present and future success. 

In this book, many examples are given. I wrote down a few teaching based examples maybe you could offer:

• Having kids or teens over to help put in wood floors, fix plumbing or work in the yard. This provides the children a) learning a skill and hands-on experience in a trade such as carpentry b)time together, c) feeling needed and successful at a task with a group of people
• Providing help and assistance with financial information such as budgeting or financial management, buying a house or dealing with loans, or working through the banking system, 
• Helping people navigate through the medical system and understand insurance, Medicaid and Medicare systems and offer assistance and knowledge to help make choices for their health and family.
• One woman taught a girl in a poor neighborhood how to read recipes and cook. This not only greatly increased her success in school but also provided a source of income for her family when she sold her baked goods.

Everyone has different skills and advice to share and offer. We should be open and willing to share. However Kevin makes a great point. We need to form a partnership with the individuals we are teaching. We must make sure that we do not look down on people we become personally involved with who have less than us. This is OT too ;) Let them solve their problems, let them apply themselves to learn. Form a partnership with them or a friendship first.

Kevin also stresses the importance for preventive efforts with children. A quote I feel is quite applicable... "It is far easier to preserve and nurture a child's dignity than it is to repair and adults--though with God, all things are possible."

What do you know about the jail system?

What are some correlations of those who become imprisoned?

What are some ways these correlations could be dealt with and imprisonment prevented?

Are we truly "a society the effectively refuses a substantial portion of its population any real way of surviving with a reasonable standard of living, yet declares that it is all about 'liberty and justice for all'?" 

Practical Justice: Giving a Man a Fish

 "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. 

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Ever heard the saying above. People could use this quote in many different ways. The reason they wanted to be a teacher, the reason to teach a trade, the reason to support a program, and the reason to not provide direct relief to someone in need. To put it in real world terms... Give a man a pizza or 5 bucks and he could possibly feed his family for a day. Teach him to make a pizza and he could work at Dominos, Little Ceasers, or Papa Johns and earn $7.25 an hour! 

However, when there is a need, a day of learning and then spending weeks trying to convince people to hire you does not fulfill the need and the need is still there. Direct relief is needed and should be offered. Luke 6: 30 states "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back." It becomes a great starting point and opening door to begin teaching to fish. 

Direct relief needs to be met first and the best way to give direct relief is with personal involvement! God has entrusted you with resources and with a responsibility. Keven Blue gives many suggestions on how to help with direct relief!

Suggestions given of direct relief and suggestions to consider:

• taking someone to lunch with you or giving them a meal from a restarunt 
• giving food to food banks or similar organizations but know where you place your money. Understand how your gifts are being used.
• Get involved and volunteer with an organization and STICK WITH IT for a few YEARS! not for a month, not for a semester or season...for a few YEARS! 

Your life situation may not be open to serve in person or maybe financially but there are many opportunities for you to serve God's kingdom. Simply knowing how the system itself prevents others from growing and prospering fairly is a wonderful step in the right direction. That is an area I, personally, do not understand. 

Practical Justice: Loving Others Comes with a Cost

Why hello fellow readers/bloggers of the internet world! I have notices from the stats provided by this cool blog site that the most read article to date is my article on Luminosity. I can see why. People enjoy practical, useful information, not everyone is willing to sift through chatter or personal recounts unless the stories are quite entertaining and well written. Well sadly those posts will be rare but keep your eyes out for the next big post!

For now I am diving into a book as my quite time. I am taking a break form the Old Testament; which my boyfriend and I have been reading and discussing about for over a year now. I am reading a book given to me by my Campus ministry (Intervarsity Christian Fellowship) at East Carolina University title: Practical Justice by Kevin Blue. I already ready 2 chapters previously before deciding to actually take and then share my notes with you. Its a small book and easy read thus far with many amazing examples and questions. Maybe you should use this book in a small group setting? I would only suggest this book for small groups that are tight-nit, have a strong God-based community, and that have a desire to do something more together. This book is wonderful for personal growth too! 

SOooo I will start on Chapter 3: Love comes with a cost.

Mark 8:35 "Whoever loses his life for Jesus' sake and the gospels will save it."

I can hear it now..."Wow this is very uplifiting and way to jump right into the hardest and most unmotivating part of serving...." Well Im not sorry. This was not intientional at all, however, suck it up and face it. Serving is not easy. Loss will happen. When serving you risk loss in time, energy, money, comfort, physical well-being such as health, and emotional loss. Kevin offers many examples of how him and his friends and partners in ministry have loss loved possessions like wedding gifts, and bikes as well as trust for others. In a personal example Kevin explains how even after an extended, giving relationship to a local homeless man Ron. Even after many acts of kindness and love to Ron, Ron steals one bike and breaks into the house the following night to steal another. Loss of trust. 

While some costs to serving seem more important or costly than others (such as loss of a bike vs. loss of a few extra dollars) the key point of this chapter is that the cost is worth it...even when we dont see it... This book provides examples of times when extended service and gifts have led people to God and to a higher quality of life. However, Kevin points out that rarely did he ever see the result of his actions When serving, dont expect to see a glorious result, don't expect to be rewarded on the spot for your actions. (Another loss, your pride...) So what is the point of serving then? Well when you truly put your trust in God that He would use you and your service as His acts of love to change people, peace and a growth of desire to serve God's creation begins to grow. Your acts of love may not change a person's heart but may change your own.

Questions to Explore:

1) Do you see the value of each person as greatly as Jesus sees them?

    

Honestly for me...no. I wish i did and for the longest time I fooled myself into thinking that I did but no. For example, On a bus trip to NYC with a small group of friends, we met a man named Craig. At first, due to his 48 oz of beer and his loud personality and over-aggressive tone to the bus driver, we determined to sit as far away from him as possible and I did not want to even make eye contact with him. I saw him as an obnoxious drunk. Well to make a story short we actually spent 24 hours with him on the bus and through transfers too. We had lunch with him, we shared food and learn about his life. There was much more to him than meets the eye.  He was a third grade teacher with a degree in elementary education. He is now working at a TV studio. We prayed for him after he left and hoped that he saw God in some way. Craig really opened my eyes to my earthly judging attitude. 

2) What are your initial thoughts when you drive by or see someone or a group of people not cleanly dressed or acting slightly out of the ordinary?

3) Are we willing to have the small/unnoticed role and not be the star when serving?

Yes! however it's always the big star roles that get noticed and the small roles are often left out or forgotten about.It is easier to overlook the small but needed roles. Day to day I miss out on the small tokens of God's love I can share to others. Also I feel this question is connected to the number 1. If one is unable to see the value of or desire to show love to each individual how will one notice see the small ways to help? For example if you easily pass a person on the corner asking for money because of being hungry, how will you think of and allow the time and money to take them to lunch with you at a fast food restaurant? With the power of rationalizing, you would say the person only wants money to pay for drug use or whatever. I fall into this sometimes...other times I wish i had a few $$'s to give but I rarely caring cash.

Ever seen Shallow Hal? I did recently and the movie fits perfectly. How do we view ppl as desirable or beautiful, by their looks and outward actions or by their hearts and their potential in life?