Today, many of us have off from work in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. King was a man who advocated for the disadvantaged. In his day (and some would say this is still true), non-Caucasians were seen as second-class citizens, denied even some of the most basic freedoms provided by our society to whites. I hope that, whoever you are and whatever you are doing today, you take a moment to think about the freedoms that you enjoy and how important those political freedoms are.
But this is a blog about Christianity in the workplace. Jesus had a great deal in common with King. Like King, Jesus identified with the disadvantaged in society. He rebuked His disciples for sending away children, and He praised the innocence with which children accepted Him. Children would never have been allowed around most of the other teachers in Jesus' day, so His recognition of them was truly unusual. Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4 (a Samaritan, a woman, and a divorcee!) and his associates with tax collectors and "sinners" are other illustrations of times when Jesus chose to associate with those that society generally rejected. James must have picked up on this attention to the oppressed as he wrote about perfect religion looking after widows and orphans (James 1:27), groups that had virtually no rights at that time.
How can you show mercy to those around you that are disadvantaged? First, ask yourself who it is that no one wants to be around. Second, look at who gets pushed to the margins in your organization. Then, befriend those people. Advocate for their considerations. You won't be popular--Jesus' actions separated Him from the religious leaders who plotted and later killed Him; King was thrown in jail and later assassinated. But it's the right thing to do. Throughout history, freedom comes to people because others are willing to stand up to oppression.
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