Woe to Those Who Make Unjust Laws

Scripture demands justice. Trump’s allies in Congress are doing the opposite — and we must speak up.

By Rev. Jennifer Butler

“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.”
— Isaiah 10:1–2

Over 2,000 verses in Scripture call us to care for the poor and challenge injustice. Few are as direct as this one from Isaiah — and few feel as urgent as they do right now.

Trump’s allies in Congress are once again pushing legislation that betrays our moral values. Their new budget proposal would cut millions off healthcare in order to hand another $4.5 trillion in tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations.

Let that sink in.
$880 billion cut from Medicaid.
$230 billion slashed from food assistance.
They’re also targeting housing, transportation, veterans’ care, children with disabilities — basic support systems for human dignity.

Even some Republicans are sounding the alarm. And they should. This proposal is not just bad policy — it’s morally unconscionable.

---

But we are not powerless.

There’s something you can do right now:

1. Join the Cost Coalition — a new alliance mobilizing to stop these cuts and speak out about the rising costs Americans face from reckless policies like tariffs and tax giveaways.

2. Call your members of Congress.
Look up their numbers. Tape them to your fridge. Call them every day. Tell them how these policies are affecting you and your neighbors. Use this brilliant guide by Bright America and give them a follow! Check out 5 Calls and make this a daily spiritual practice!

---

When politicians demonize struggling Americans, they’re trying to justify policies that enrich the powerful and abandon the rest. But stories like Jocelyn Smith’s reveal the truth.

Jocelyn knows what it’s like to be hungry and homeless. That’s why, after work, she collects leftover food from restaurants and shares it — no questions asked — in a downtown parking lot. She helps raise funds to repair vacant housing so low-income families can have a place to live. She’s a mom, a worker, a volunteer — and still, she needs SNAP and Medicaid to survive.

“I’m disabled, I care for my disabled daughter, I work, I feed my community — and I still can’t afford food without public assistance,” Jocelyn says. “It’s no substitute for fair wages and a strong public safety net. We all deserve better. That’s the kind of world I’m working to build.”

👉 Read Jocelyn’s full story, published by OtherWords.org in partnership with the Institute for Policy Studies and Working Class Storyteller.

---

A Spiritual Call to Resist

Scripture doesn’t just warn us about poverty. It also warns us about authoritarianism.

The Israelites were not originally led by kings. God offered a different path — a covenantal society rooted in economic justice, shared power, and care for the vulnerable. But the people demanded monarchy. “We want a king like the other nations,” they said.

God, through the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 8:11-18), warned them:

“A king will take your sons… he will take your daughters… your land… your labor… until you yourselves become slaves.”

Six times: he will take.

Today, as our democracy is chipped away — by greed, fear, and authoritarian ambition — we must remember: this is not God’s vision.

Resisting injustice is not just activism.
It’s a spiritual practice.

Let’s get to work.

Call-to-Action Links:

• Join the Cost Coalition

• Call Your Member of Congress

• Read Jocelyn’s Story on OtherWords.org