As we enter in to Martin Luther King Memorial Day, we need to reflect on what it means to serve our community and require justice as Christians. Justice and care for others are not liberal or conservative values. They are fundamental Christian qualities, as we are clearly commanded to seek justice and work for the betterment and care of our neighbors.

Scripture sets forth the basic tenets of why each person matters.

Genesis 1:26 and 27:

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

In light of this, we cannot agree with you that the only thing “unalienable” about humanity is our “penchant for sin.” That’s just one side of the story. The Image of God ( Imago Dei) also has to be taken into consideration. From it flows a whole series of implications as to what a human being is and how he or she should be treated by his or her fellows.

As Christians, we have a responsibility to redress those social factors that conspire to keep entire segments of our population mired in hopelessness and despair. What’s more, we need to approach this task primarily from a relational perspective.

As we understand it, “social justice” means nothing more than “doing right by one’s neighbor.”

That’s an idea that figures significantly in the words of Jesus.

Jesus says,  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”