City Life Starter

I. THE WORD: Jeremiah 29:4-7

4  This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  5  “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.  6  Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.  7  Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. What does it mean to be socially responsible?
2. Think about the closest and most intimate relationships you have, and ask yourself what purpose do those relationships serve.
3. In the above verses, pick out all the relationships you see conveyed. Which one is the most important and why?

Jeremiah was writing the captives, God’s chosen people of Israel, in Babylon when he wrote this. This included elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. During this time of the Babylonian Captivity, the Jews suffered much and faced great cultural pressures in this foreign land. Despite these setbacks, prophets like Jeremiah served as a voice of hope for the people to one day return home, not to give up, to observe their customs and holidays, and to keep their eyes fixed on God, not their circumstances.

They held together in close community, even amid turmoil, chaos, troubled times, and evil-doing of those in authority. Jeremiah gave them a word from The LORD to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Can you imagine living a city full of chaos and riotousness, where you may be feeling like a captive almost, and yet you’re admonished to somehow to seek the peace and prosperity of that place? Wait just a minute! That sounds just like the place we live in today unless you’re socially ignorant of what’s going on around you. So, you mean to tell me that this still applies then, right now, today? You and I are to seek the peace and prosperity of our city? So, I can’t just do one simple little socially responsible act of feeding the hungry and call it a day, and think, I’ve upheld my end to be a socially responsible person? Isn’t it just standing up for people’s rights when an injustice in the society has been done? Or, you may argue that you’re an activist who stands up against racism, poverty, discrimination of any kind, segregation, oppression, or what have you.

These things are amazing, and I would say that the Bible is very clear that Christians have a social responsibility in caring, acting, denouncing, and encouraging in a manner reflecting that of God’s caring, acting, denouncing and encouraging nature. Jesus demonstrated social justice acts as well, and we should take this very seriously.

Let’s look through more closely at this scripture. With all the relationships that are referenced, i.e., nature, spousal, offspring, there is one that is most superior to all. In verse 7, it mentions praying to the Lord. Jeremiah was reminding God’s chosen people to keep their relationship with the Lord a priority. To get closer to someone, you must communicate with them. This communication with the Lord was key to the installation of hope, encouragement, peace, and prosperity of God’s people as well as the city’s.

Because of Jeremiah’s relationship with the Lord, he could proclaim boldly to the people to stir them to move ahead. Jeremiah knew that even though they were in troubled times and in a troubled city, they had a social responsibility, more than just social justice, to seek to end suffering, especially eternal suffering.

Seeking the ultimate peace and prosperity is to bring an end to eternal suffering, while at the same time, not ignoring social injustices going on around us. We know that God’s promise for Israel did not just wash away. He had a plan, future, and hope, and they could call upon Him in confidence.

Now, we too live with that same hope, knowledge of God’s plan and His eternal future that we are now taking part of. With this, we have an urgent responsibility to share with others. To go forth, and not give up for our city’s well-being. The purpose of our relationship with the Lord, our most intimate relationship we’ll have, is not just to hoard to ourselves. It’s not just to make ourselves better and stronger Christians. If this is your mentality, then you may be in danger of thinking your salvation is all about you and is acting as your self-help in life. True, salvation does benefit the believer in many ways. However, it does not stop there.

Being socially responsible, the social action and the work we do out of our relationship with the Lord, just as it was with the Jews here, is to take chaos and bring order, beauty, and benefit to others to display and be in awe of the glory of God. This was the setup from the beginning. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to see, to act socially, and to proclaim His ultimate eternal peace and prosperous plan for souls who will receive Him and wish to know Him.

So, now when I ask you what does it mean to be socially responsible, I hope you see it’s more than just standing up for social injustices. Social injustices are not to be ignored, so continue to act. As you’re acting, pray for those you’re acting on behalf of. Pray for those who commit atrocities that you may be trying to rectify through your work. As Christians, we are to live eternally minded, yet bringing hope and peace to the present, with the promises of God for an eternal future. I also hope you see a more significant more profound purpose in your relationships. And if it’s the wrong type of relationship and is either unfruitful and serves no purpose, rethink it and re-evaluate it now.

PRAYER

Make it just that. Your prayer. Don’t pray my prayer on this one. Ask God to speak to you, to reveal to you, and to show you where you’re to take action, or make a change in your actions, thoughts, and proclamations. Jesus’ mission was to seek and save, and we are to join in that. That is our social responsibility in whatever area you’re taking action and going forth in.