Justice, Compassion & Love

I have always been fascinated by mottos, be they for businesses, schools or countries. My primary school motto came from Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. “No Pain, No Gain” and, “Perseverance and Success as an Impetus” were my mottos for my ordinary level and secondary level education schools, respectively. At Makerere University, my motto was, “We Build for the Future” while at Lund University, my motto was “Prepared to do Both”, i.e., trained in martial as well as scholarly pursuits. When I was at Newcastle University, the motto was “I Look Ahead”. Although, I, like many students, may not have paid much attention to these mottos, looking back I realise that in their uniqueness, the mottos were meant to, and actually did, inspire a certain sense of belonging, servitude and scholarship in students. These mottos were ideals that were subconsciously inbuilt in our day-to-day student life.

A motto is a set of beliefs, ideals or ethical stances that an entity adopts to inspire its workers to take action, to overcome obstacles or to keep working towards a goal.

I recently joined ADRA Australia, whose motto is “Justice, Compassion and Love”. ADRA’s motto inspires its employees and affiliates to embody compassion, passion and commitment in service to humanity so that every individual is enabled to live as God intended. This is why ADRA, a Christian organisation, is active in relief, care, advocacy and development. ADRA’s approach to services and development is guided by the three words – justice, compassion and love. These three words are based on Micah 6:8 - He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (The New Revised Standard Version).

Micah’s message was true for people of his time just as it is true for the people in our time – that is, a people whose moral condition is corrupt. A people who are either falling deeper into such a condition or a people who are victims of moral disorder and social decay. Merchants, business people and the elite gained enormous wealth through the exploitation of poor farmers, driving them into deeper and deeper depravity. The upsurge in wealth brought with it political power that enabled the elites to feed their corruption, greed, injustice and immorality. The unjust economic practices forced the poor farmers to borrow from the wealthy and merchants to keep their business as a going concern.

One sees that the book of Micah exposes such depravity, and it exhorts us to act on the injustice that the depravity breeds. In addition, in Micah 6:8, Prophet Micah calls us to provide mercy, transform people’s lives and promise the depraved that there are opportunities of hope. At ADRA, we see ourselves as participating in God’s mission of holistic transformation by responding to the call in Micah 6:8. ADRA works with people experiencing deprivation and distress to create just and positive change through empowering partnerships and responsible action. Our service reaches people of all nationalities, races, religions and economic standing. We pride ourselves in not isolating anyone in need. We know that the poor bear the image of the Creator and that they have knowledge, abilities and resources that need to be tapped into and harnessed to create a catalyst of change. We always endeavor to treat the poor with respect. This enables the poor to be architects of their own change in their own communities. We seek not to impose solutions upon them, but empower them.

ADRA has a long tradition of social, economic and humanitarian work. Basing our work on justice, compassion and love, we envision a flourishing world in which people live a full life, free from poverty, injustice and conflict. A world at peace with God, nature and one another, as intended and enabled by the Creator. To ADRA, justice, compassion and love are the weightier matters of not only the Old Testament, but the entire revealed Bible. ADRA loves to think that God has commanded us to be committed to practical, down-to-earth exercise of the triplet- justice, compassion and love, in ways that reflect and embody God’s commitment to His creation’s aim. In seeking justice, ADRA advocates for the unjust structures of society to be transformed in a way that they respond to the needs of the poor and enable them to live meaningfully. In practicing compassion, ADRA aims at responding humanely to human need and suffering following the example of Jesus Christ who went about doing good (Acts 10:38). In addition, ADRA believes in the Pauline approach to ministry, of integrating service and care into ministry, as we serve the poor (see Galatians 2:10). In fact, in Acts 11: 27 - 30, Paul and Barnabas brought relief to the needy people of Judea, whose circumstances were worsened by famine in their first missionary journey.

By engaging with compassion, ADRA seeks to empathise with the communities we work with, and also with each other. We respond to human need through loving compassion. We work collaboratively for the best outcome for those living in poverty or distress. Working with the poor involves building relationships that lead to mutual change. We welcome welfare activities as important in serving the vulnerable. Welfare activities, however, must be extended to include movement towards value transformation, the empowerment of communities and co-operation in wider issues of justice and compassion. ADRA also partners with churches since the churches are present in the midst of the local communities. The churches’ presence in the community places them in a unique position to restore God-given dignity to the disadvantaged by enabling them to produce their own resources and to create solidarity networks.

So, reader, the ADRA triplet motto of justice, compassion and love motivates my colleagues and I, and all of the ADRA volunteers across the country, to have the privilege to share our knowledge, skills, time and affinity with those who need it most, the underprivileged and often forgotten members of society. ADRA does not aim to be impressive about extending social economic compassion but aims to be expressive in her approach in restoring the dignity of the deprived. ADRA is, at its core, a Christian development entity, acting as a as if it is not a cooperate entity, and it is a cooperate organisation as if it is not a Christian entity. With our Christian development links, we engage the communities we serve with Christian passion and commitment. And with our corporate identity, we serve the communities with modern governance systems. This enables us to serve humanity, to live as God as intended.