here<\/b><\/a>.)<\/b><\/p>\nSometimes, acting for the greater good means choosing the practical path, even when that path doesn\u2019t feel like the most virtuous one. Dr. King once responded to someone who tried to chide him that changing laws doesn\u2019t change people\u2019s hearts and minds. At an address at Western Michigan University, December 18, 1963, King stated, \u201cNow the other myth that gets around is the idea that legislation cannot really solve the problem and that it has no great role to play in this period of social change because you\u2019ve got to change the heart and you can\u2019t change the heart through legislation. You can\u2019t legislate morals. The job must be done through education and religion. Well, there\u2019s half-truth involved here. Certainly, if the problem is to be solved then in the final sense, hearts must be changed. Religion and education must play a great role in changing the heart. But we must go on to say that while it may be true that morality cannot be legislated, behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me and I think that is pretty important, also. So there is a need for executive orders. There is a need for judicial decrees. There is a need for civil rights legislation on the local scale within states and on the national scale from the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n
I, too, would prefer is to make choices based on the intrinsic value or potential for something to be life-giving and rooted in compassion and equity, rather than some present or future imposed reward. But again, that is not the world we live in.<\/p>\n
What I do appreciate about our reading this week is Jesus\u2019 admonishment to be inclusive about the \u201cthe poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.\u201d These are the people who, in his social context, would have been excluded and marginalized. Jesus is here promoting equity and inclusion, principles we still need today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe war we are presently witnessing against equity and inclusion is often couched in appeals to tradition, meritocracy, or neutrality, but it nonetheless undermines efforts to create fair opportunities for all. Those opposing equity and inclusion resent those they would still like to consider themselves as better than, and that is what our reading is speaking to this week. Modern-day opponents of equity and inclusion claim that institutional equity and inclusion initiatives end up dividing rather than uniting, but in truth, what is really triggering them is how equity and inclusion challenges long-standing imbalances of power and privilege. Resistance often stems from discomfort with change, fear of losing status, or misunderstanding the goals of inclusion. Equity doesn\u2019t mean favoritism. It means acknowledging systemic barriers and correcting them. Inclusion ensures everyone belongs, not just the historically dominant. Attacking these principles weakens social progress, silences marginalized voices, and sustains inequality under the illusion of fairness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThis week\u2019s reading should not be aimed at those already being excluded to scold them for desiring equity and inclusion. Rather this reading is about those who oppose equity and inclusion to protect their own privilege. To these folks, our reading speaks: \u201cGo and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, \u2018Friend, move up higher.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Are you receiving all of RHM\u2019s free resources each week?<\/p>\n
Begin each day being inspired toward love, compassion, justice and action. Free.<\/p>\n
Sign up at HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1222\/2024\/10\/RHM-SignUp25-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What is really triggering modern-day opponents is how equity and inclusion challenges long-standing imbalances of power and privilege.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4129,"featured_media":11168,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[729],"tags":[780,34,2720,284,3788],"class_list":["post-11165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liberation-theology","tag-inclusion","tag-justice","tag-lectionary-reading","tag-liberation-theology","tag-moral-compass"],"yoast_head":"\n
Jesus, Equity and Inclusion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is really triggering modern-day opponents is how equity and inclusion challenges long-standing imbalances of power and privilege.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jesus, Equity and Inclusion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is really triggering modern-day opponents is how equity and inclusion challenges long-standing imbalances of power and privilege.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Social Jesus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HerbMontgomeryofRHM\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-28T14:31:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1222\/2025\/08\/SJ25852-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"580\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Herb Montgomery\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@HerbMontgomery\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Herb Montgomery\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus, Equity and Inclusion\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-28T14:31:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-28T14:31:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/#\/schema\/person\/26e337fc68cc87d32a2927e9e42faca4\"},\"description\":\"What is really triggering modern-day opponents is how equity and inclusion challenges long-standing imbalances of power and privilege.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jesus, Equity and Inclusion\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/\",\"name\":\"Social Jesus\",\"description\":\"What a first-century, Jewish prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of making our society a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/#\/schema\/person\/26e337fc68cc87d32a2927e9e42faca4\",\"name\":\"Herb Montgomery\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b010cbc5f6c9ea988c104f693dcc9ef?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b010cbc5f6c9ea988c104f693dcc9ef?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Herb Montgomery\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.renewedheartministries.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HerbMontgomeryofRHM\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HerbMontgomery\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/author\/hmontgomery\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jesus, Equity and Inclusion","description":"What is really triggering modern-day opponents is how equity and inclusion challenges long-standing imbalances of power and privilege.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jesus, Equity and Inclusion","og_description":"What is really triggering modern-day opponents is how equity and inclusion challenges long-standing imbalances of power and privilege.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/","og_site_name":"Social Jesus","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HerbMontgomeryofRHM\/","article_published_time":"2025-08-28T14:31:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":580,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1222\/2025\/08\/SJ25852-2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Herb Montgomery","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@HerbMontgomery","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Herb Montgomery","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/","name":"Jesus, Equity and Inclusion","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-08-28T14:31:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-28T14:31:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/#\/schema\/person\/26e337fc68cc87d32a2927e9e42faca4"},"description":"What is really triggering modern-day opponents is how equity and inclusion challenges long-standing imbalances of power and privilege.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2025\/08\/jesus-equity-inclusion\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jesus, Equity and Inclusion"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/","name":"Social Jesus","description":"What a first-century, Jewish prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of making our society a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/#\/schema\/person\/26e337fc68cc87d32a2927e9e42faca4","name":"Herb Montgomery","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b010cbc5f6c9ea988c104f693dcc9ef?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b010cbc5f6c9ea988c104f693dcc9ef?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","caption":"Herb Montgomery"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.renewedheartministries.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HerbMontgomeryofRHM\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/HerbMontgomery"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/author\/hmontgomery\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Jesus,](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1222\/2025\/08\/SJ25852-2.png\")