kingdom of servants

The primary source of war and injustice in our world is the empire of exploitation formed by those engaged in uncaring consumerism, corporate exploitation, coercive politics, war, tyranny, and passive pacifism. These partners in exploitation rely upon authoritarian governments who leave two billion people politically voiceless and economically impoverished. They are the poorest of the poor. Because authoritarian governments are unaccountable to their citizens they persistently produce extreme corruption, poverty, terrorism, exploitation, genocide, refugees, and environmental harm. These unaccountable governments, waging often-hidden civil wars against their citizens, are also far more likely to engage in international conflict. As a result the first priority of those seeking dignity and peace for all people is to undermine the foundation of this empire of exploitation by assuring all citizens are free from persecution when exercising their God-given dignities. Self-determination by free citizens results in accountable governments far less likely to engage in civil oppression, international wars, and the exploitation of workers and resources.
 
Unfaithful Christians fuel much of this outsourcing of slavery. To satisfy Christian consumers addicted to exploited resources, some Christians, working in governments and unjust corporations, comfortably collude with dignity-disrespecting Christian dictators. Those who passively say “no to war”, without embracing the responsibility for life giving efforts to protect oppressed people, have no more integrity than those saying “no to abortion” while rejecting the responsibility to support children born into crisis. As a result this proposal explores Christlike opportunities for the transnational Church to lovingly seek to protect exploited people through the abolition of this 1,700-year era in which those profiting from tyranny were largely unchallenged in their claims to follow Jesus. These faithful opportunities are rooted in the God-given dignity of all people and Jesus' call to be life giving servants rather than tyrants. The primary proposed method is the loving practice of the peacemaking Rule of Christ (Matthew 18:15-20) with complicit Christian consumers, corporate executives, politicians, and dictators. We seek to imitate Jesus through nonviolent transnational direct action in solidarity with oppressed people.