Fighting Injustice With Art and FaithSample

Issues of of injustice aren't always about clear villains and heroes. Sometimes we can participate in injustice without really knowing it, by participating in unjust systems.

As consumers, our purchasing choices can unknowingly support supply chains tainted by modern-day slavery. We've all probably seen chocolate or coffee with "Fair Trade" labels on them.

But what about the stories we tell?

Alexandr Solzhenitsyn famously warned that if artists don't tell the truth through their work or address falsehood in their craft, that they are accomplices to all the evil committed by their countrymen. What a sobering thought!

But he didn't just leave it at that. He called artists from around the world to wield the weapon they have that no one can overcome: the truth. In his Nobel Lecture, he asserted that the artist’s duty is to keep one's self available to that “one word of truth that outweighs the world .”

What a challenge to us! We need to examine our own roles and responsibilities as creative people. As we are led by the Spirit of God, we have a responsibility to uphold the truth, revealing God's heart for people, His ways, and His values.

Like the servants entrusted with talents in the parable, we will all be held to account for the gifts that God has given us and how we used them. May we be found faithful and known to be creative believers who speak life and truth, naming injustice and calling people into God's purposes.

Action Point:

Just like you might intentionally buy fair trade coffee, think about how you create or the stories you consume. Are they connected to God's good and true economy? Reflect on what it means to be a faithful, fair steward of truth.