The pursuit of racial justice as worship

"Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. 'Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?' Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord ? "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. - Isaiah 58:1‭-‬12 ESV

We cannot worship without justice. They dealt well with God, but ignore the people around them. We care deeply about good theology and good Christian music. We want to fast well and pray regularly. The church in the US is complicit in racial injustice. The Christianity of America is not the Christianity of the Bible. The American church has played a role in racial slavery and segregation. The segregation of schools has gotten worse since Plessy v. Ferguson. The federal law has been rendered mute. Pursuing justice was seen as something the liberals did. Christians are focused on conserving their theology. And so, all this prayer for revival falls on deaf ears.

Good theology and seeking justice is God-honoring. A church that fasts is difficult. But God is not pleased. This is not the fast He desires. God wants justice; He wants this to be something we desire. This is an everyday thing. Not just on the day of service and we go on our daily lives. God promises to answer those who seek justice. We are not to seek our own good. We are to seek out the good of our neighbors. God equates himself to water. This is water in a desert culture. Water was treated very differently. It was conserved and protected.