GUEST WRITER: STEPHEN REEVES
If I had to share something with my little brother when I was a kid, my mom had a genius rule—one kid divides, and the other chooses. If it was the last dinner roll, a candy bar, a donut, or anything that could be split in two, one brother cut it in half, and the other got to pick the one he wanted. You can bet each half would wind up exactly even.
I cannot say my mom’s plan to stop sibling squabbles is why I went to law school, but it sure inculcated a sense of fairness in me. I doubt she had justice or the second greatest commandment (“love your neighbor as yourself”) in mind, but the practice helped me treat my brother the way I wanted to be treated. It may seem like a simplistic place to start when talking with children about justice and advocacy, but a fundamental function of politics is how we distribute scarce public resources.
A Life Shaped by Faith and Advocacy
After attending law school, I was led to a career at the intersection of faith and public policy. I’ve worked as a registered lobbyist in Austin (TX), worked in Washington, D.C. to uphold the separation of church and state, and helped start the advocacy department for a national denomination.
Following Jesus in Public Life
As someone who has always focused more on what Jesus calls us to do in the world, rather than on determining right belief, my career has been a calling. I’m fortunate that the organizations I’ve worked for believed that loving your neighbor in the political realm meant seeking the common good for all, with a special emphasis on the marginalized and overlooked. I’ve worked for religious liberty, against predatory lending, for stewardship of God’s creation, against the death penalty, and for strong public education, among other issues.
Advocacy as a Family Practice
I also married a remarkable woman who is the seminary grad and the Reverend in the family. A board-certified chaplain who served a nonprofit hospice for years, she is now a pastor to children and families at our church. She often uses Illustrated Ministry’s resources to foster learning from the stories about how Jesus lived: advocating and caring for others.
My wife and I are not exactly an average couple at church, but like many of you, we’re raising three young kids in tumultuous and divided times. We’re doing our best to teach them that God cares about justice, and that the call to love our neighbors impacts how we live our lives beyond church.
Talking to Kids About Justice
Start with What Kids Already Know
When talking to kids about justice, simple fairness is a great place to start. Kids have an innate sense of what is fair and what is not. Before we ingrain in them that “life isn’t fair,” we should nurture their natural sense to desire fairness.
Encourage Speaking Up for Others
In our home, my wife and I often talk to our kids about folks who find the world unfair. This includes migrants at our southern border having to leave home to find a safe place, kids with disabilities who may feel left out at school, and families who can’t afford many of the luxuries we take for granted. We also encourage our kids to speak up for themselves and others. We tell them to be their own advocate by using their voice to get what they need. Most importantly, we implore our kids to speak out and stand up for people who are hurt or treated unfairly.
Practice Advocacy in Everyday Life
We tell our kids about my job as a professional advocate. They are learning that going to the Capitol to speak with elected officials about what is unfair is not only our right as citizens but also our duty as people who follow Jesus. Our kids know their mother has written letters and spoken to school board trustees about treating all kids fairly in our schools—especially religious minorities.
Showing Up for Justice Together
Build Relationship Across Difference
As a white family in a predominantly white community, we’re especially conscientious about how we talk to our kids about race. We make sure they know the history of racial discrimination in our country and point out the ways our society is still impacted. They witness us in real cross-racial friendships of mutual respect. Perhaps most importantly, we expose them to other cultures through travel and service. The organization I now lead, FaithWorks, supports a network of Latino-led ministries and nonprofits on the southern border serving migrants. Our kids accompany us every year to a shelter in Mexico to spend time with migrant kids. They get to hear migrants’ stories, play games and create crafts together, and make a personal connection with people on the move.
Practice Justice Through Presence
Our family has attended multiple protests and demonstrations together. Our daughter attended an anti-death penalty prayer vigil before she could walk. We are trying to teach them that showing up and speaking out are expected. We make sure our kids know that our sense of justice, our call to advocacy, and our political convictions come from our deep faith. We belong to a church that strives to welcome, affirm, and celebrate all people as created in God’s image. It is very important to my wife and me that our kids know, learn from, and serve alongside members of the LGBTQ community.
Love Your Neighbors
I believe that Christian advocacy begins with the second greatest commandment. If we’re called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we should do so with our voice and political influence. Our political convictions should lead us to work for the good of our neighbors’ families as much as we do our own. While we try to insulate our kids a bit from the hyper-partisan divisions in society, they certainly could tell you exactly who we voted for in the last presidential election.
The nastiness of politics is hardly something we want to expose children to, but we should not neglect the opportunity to teach kids lessons they’ll carry for the rest of their lives. We strive to look for ways to demonstrate how we love our neighbors in public, connect words like justice and advocacy to the work of the church, and talk to them about elected officials who are role models. Maybe one day they’ll even see public service as something they’re called to by their faith.
It’s Never Too Early to Begin Justice Work
A sense of justice was nurtured in me as a child. I admit it started from a selfish place. I wanted an equal share of the dessert, so I was careful to cut it right down the middle. As my faith grew, I was challenged to love my neighbor as myself. The second greatest commandment led me to a life committed to advocacy. It’s never too early to start justice work.
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