Right Relationship and the Slow, Slow Work of God

In a recent conversation with my friend Kate, she mentioned that during her years as a student she was arrested while protesting her university’s investments in South Africa. She was frustrated at the time because it seemed as though the protest didn’t have any effect. It was only years later that the University divested its holdings and the system of apartheid in South Africa was dismantled in response to global pressure. Thus, we should not be discouraged when our actions for justice do not yield immediate results. As Teilhard de Chardin said, “Above all, trust in the slow, slow work of God.”

I believe one reason God’s work is slow is because, as the Book of Wisdom indicates, justice/righteousness is based on relationship, not law, and among humans, acknowledging, building, and honoring relationships takes time. However, justice/righteousness is undying (Wisdom 1:15), so our actions on behalf of right relationship will always bear fruit, though it may not be visible until many years later. As Aesop, another chronicler of wisdom, noted, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

As Christians, we are called to be in relationship with the entire body of Christ, which includes not only our family, friends, and colleagues but persons throughout the world. That can feel daunting. One way to answer this call without being overwhelmed is by trying to live in right relationship with others in our day-to-day interactions. No act of kindness, no refusal to consume gossip posted on social media, no letter written to a congressional leader in support of health insurance coverage for the poor is ever wasted—for justice is undying.