Israel Houghton Defines What Social Justice Means To Him
Gospel music artist Israel Houghton has won many awards, has chart topping albums and is loved all around the world but the thing that is closest to his heart is helping the poor.
I remember struggling with feeling uneasy after we’ve just had a great time of worship. What next? I’ve been a World Vision artist for a long time, trying to help get kids sponsored, and it is amazing to me, and probably to every artist who stands up and tries to give an appeal inside the life of a concert, that it’s just a drag. You’ve gone from this incredible, exuberant thing that meets the “what’s in it for me?” cry of most of our hearts, and that is, “I want to feel good right now, I want to sing along, I want to jump, I want to dance, I want to cry, even, and I’m going to feel great about that.” But then, the second you go, “Hey, I’ll tell you what we ought to do with all this worship. What if we took the euphoria that we’re all feeling right now, why don’t we help some kids? Help them experience a little slice of what we’ve just experienced?” Man, all the air goes out of the room, all of the “Here we go” kicks in with people and they sit down and the moment is [snaps fingers] lost that quickly, and you’re just going , “Aw, people, come on!”
I went to Amos 5, and the Israel Houghton translation of this is basically God saying, “Hey man, I appreciate the songs you write for me, but I’ll tell you what, I’m not even going to listen to your songs anymore. I couldn’t care less about the melodies of your songs.” And you’re sitting there going, “But this is what we do!” And God’s going, “Let me tell you what I care about. I want justice.” Amos 5 says he wants justice. Oceans of it. Let justice roll down like a river and fairness and righteousness as a mighty stream. The lights and camera and smoke and action and songs and shouts really don’t turn God on. Because if all this is is some sort of big country club Christian gathering in which only we know the language and we’ve got the secret handshakes and all that, and then we do nothing from that, and there’s no sense of worship growing legs and turning into action, then what’s the point? Source
In addition to all that Israel is doing, he is also supporting an orphanage in Capetown along with his wife Meleasa. I applaud your efforts, Israel.
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