HISTORY BOOK PROMOTES CONFIDENCE AND SELF-ESTEEM

Author Marja Bergen had many reasons for writing her recently-released book, Justice for All. The primary reason was to instill confidence in those who need encouragement to be all they can be—those who want a more meaningful life.

The book looks at the stories of twelve of history’s greats. People like William Wilberforce, who helped abolish slavery in Britain, Mahatma Gandhi. the Indian leader, who was shy about public speaking but became one of the most influential leaders of modern times, and Mother Teresa, who saw Christ’s suffering in the poor she ministered to.

Bergen encourages Christian readers to identify with what helped these leaders do what they did and to foster similar qualities in themselves. They will be inspired to do things they might previously not have believed they could do. They come to realize that they have a God who tells them they are of value to their community and their world.

Justice for All is not only for those who struggle. It speaks equally well to another group of people. It’s for individuals who might have everything they could want, but are feeling unfulfilled. They know there must be more to life, but have no idea what that could mean for them. By reading the stories of history’s greats and with the help of the personal reflections that appear throughout the book, they are enabled to envision what their life could become and develop the courage to make it a reality.

Most of all, this book will speak powerfully to those who would like to overcome the injustices in their own lives and in those they see around them. The stories of the leaders featured are liberally interspersed with reflections that will inspire them.

To readers for whom life is difficult, Bergen says, “Overcoming injustice is hard in itself. But I know that for some of you, your very life is a hardship. Just getting through the day is.”

And she asks, “What gets others through? What got Nelson Mandela through when he spent twenty-seven years in prison?”

She speaks to the reader through the words of Martin Luther King, Jr in his autobiography:

“On December 1, 1955, Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to move when she was asked to get up and move back by a bus operator. In a quiet, calm, dignified manner, so characteristic of the radiant personality of Mrs. Parks, she refused to move. The result was her arrest.” To that, King wrote, “ One can never understand the action of Mrs. Parks until one realizes that eventually the cup of endurance runs over, and the human personality cries out, ‘I can’t take it no longer.’ She had enough.”

Without spelling it out, Bergen asks the reader: Are you, too, feeling you’ve had enough? Can you, too, respond calmly, keeping your need for respect intact? It is hoped that Rosa Parks will be an example.

Bill Hybels wrote a little book called Holy Discontent. The description of “holy discontent” on the back cover reads:

“What is the one aspect of this broken world that, when you see it, touch it, or get near it, you just can’t stand? What reality is so troubling that it thrusts you off the couch and into action? It is often during these eye-opening heart-hungering moments of engagement when you will hear God whisper, ‘I feel the exact same way about this situation. Now, let’s go solve it together.’”

Do you see an unjust situation that bothers you? Can you see a way to help? . . . even a little?