Impressions of India
CHAPTER 11
After last months nuclear tests here on the Indian sub-continent I have been reflecting on what they mean for Christians here in Asia and around the world. Micah 6:8 says "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (NIV) After last months tests I started to think are the governments of India and Pakistan acting justly by building nuclear bombs when they can not even provide the necessities of life to most of its citizens my answer was no. Then after a discussing the issue with friends I realized that the governments of India and Pakistan should not share the blame alone. Our governments in the west have to shoulder some of the responsibility for these developments also because they supplied these countries with the technology to build these nuclear bombs either overtly or covertly. The west and the former Soviet Union have to take the blame for these event in one other way by setting the example for Indian and Pakistan to follow regarding a nuclear arms race.
In thinking about the governments in the west supplying technology to Indian and Pakistan for these purposes. I know in my heart that they were not acting justly because their money could have been spent on developing technology that would help feed the worlds and reduce the gap between the rich and poor in so called developing countries and develop vaccines that would cure their diseases.
So as Christians effected by these tests what should our response be when we see injustice being done. The Bible in Romans 14:19 tells us to " make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.(NIV) and also in Luke 4:18 we have the example of Christ to follow when he said "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed," (NIV)
We can follow these Biblical examples by writing our governments and encouraging them to spend more money on true relief programs and develop technologies that would help feed and educate the people of developing countries. Support and join organizations that already do these things and also become personally involved wherever we see any type of injustice being done.
During my time here in India I have seen the results of injustice in the form of the rampant poverty which results in people begging on the streets and some families to physically handicap their children so they can make a meager living begging on the streets. However having seen all this injustice I believe that we as a Christians can make a difference through witnessing by our actions and caring for the needs of these people and that in the words of Psalm 140:12 "that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy." (NIV)
In Christ’s Service,
Rich