At Love Mercy Do Justice, we look for ways to join God in making things right in our broken world. Part of the work of justice – of making things right – is to take a closer look at roadblocks that hinder communities from flourishing.
Bryan Stevenson takes a closer look at the roadblock of poverty in his book Just Mercy. He links economic issues to justice in his claim that “the opposite of poverty is not wealth. In too many places, the opposite of poverty is justice.” Because economic stability has far more to do with where someone lives than who they are, communities can either assume access to proper education, decent jobs, and reasonable healthcare, or they can assume lasting consequences for being disadvantaged.
Economic justice has been defined as “a set of moral principles for building economic institutions, the ultimate goal of which is to create an opportunity for each person to create a sufficient material foundation upon which to have a dignified, productive, and creative life beyond economics.” A community’s freedom to flourish means its individuals have the opportunity to be employed in jobs that accurately represent their skills and abilities regardless of their race or gender.
CovEnterprises, an initiative of LMDJ’s, enters into this space with a goal of providing vulnerable communities the freedom to flourish through sustained investment. We believe this investment can lead to authentic community transformation. This is one way we as the church can demonstrate the intentions of God by fostering the flourishing of all.
Watch this conversation between Benjamin Vazquez, the Director of Social Enterprise, and business owner Reesheda Washington to learn of some tangible solutions the church can do to help support small businesses during Covid-19.
Until freedom means the same for all,
The LMDJ Team
