Occupy Till He Comes

It's troubling and a bit fascinating to see these protesters as they take to the streets in cities large and small in the so-called "Occupy Wall Street" movement - and while there is apparently no central message, it does show the anger and frustration of many people who, for whatever reason, are decrying a perceived lack of justice and fairness in our society.

They decry corporations, but spread their message using tools manufactured by these large corporations.   They want jobs, but then vilify the job creators.   They generalize and rail against corporate greed, and demonstrate a lack of understanding of a free market system that is designed to reward work and to reinforce responsibility.   Sure there are abuses, but these foundational principles have stood the test of time.

They want fairness, but would like to see the non-productive rewarded to the same degree as the productive.  And, many don't feel the government is doing enough to bring about this utopian, equitable society.   I'm not sure what the endgame is here, because certainly corporations, who are accountable to stockholders, are not necessarily going to change their ways due to groups of people that camp out for days in local parks and in some cases, attempt to defy law enforcement.   

The word, "justice" is used quite often - and that was a theme apparent in yesterday's dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial - King and his followers were addressing issues concerning the worth of the individual and real injustice that was being carried out in our society.   But, I don't think you can relate the principles of Dr. King to what is going on with the Occupy movement - there is no clear message, and certainly no clear injustice that is being addressed.  

I have been thinking lately about the word, "occupy".   In fact, Jesus told a parable in Luke 19:13, where the master called 10 servants together and said, according to some translations, "Occupy till I come".  Each received a unit of money, or a mina - one servant, we're told, used it wisely and earned 10 minas.   Another earned 5, but another servant did not use wisely what he was given, and his mina was given to the one with - 10.    This parable shows the value of work, responsibility, and using the talents and resources that God has given to you.    So, from a Biblical perspective, when we're told to "occupy", it means to develop a Kingdom perspective and to use what the Lord has entrusted to us to bring glory to Him - and I believe that does include issues of social justice, because that reflects the heart of God.   So we can ask the Lord, "What would you have me to do, exercising my stewardship responsibility, to make life better for someone else and to bring honor to Your name?"