Like Jesus, we should side with the oppressed

Published 1:30 am Monday, January 5, 2026

American society

Like Jesus, side with the oppressed

I ran across a book the other day called “The Politics of Jesus” by Obery Hendricks Jr. The author made a radical claim that really got me thinking. He said that “God does indeed take sides. … In conflicts between oppressed and oppressor, God takes the side of the oppressed, never the side of the oppressor.” Whatever your faith tradition, this is a challenge to us as individuals, as communities, and as a nation. This means that:

I am on the side of Native America.

I am on the side of Black America.

I am on the side of Disability America.

I am on the side of Poor America.

I am on the side of Youth America.

I am on the side of Uncredentialed America.

I am on the side of Immigrant America.

I am on the side of LGBTQ+ America.

Oppression is not always dramatic. It can sneak up on us in very subtle ways, like the proverbial frog in a pot of water. To be American is to take the side of the oppressed and make America “the land that never has been yet; and yet must be!”

Jim Strickland

Marysville