You Care About Justice, Don't You?

Justice is not a concept reserved only for juror-filled courtrooms, administered and applied solely in the presence of judges, the accused and the accusers. When the term is used, our minds tend toward the sort of scene I just described - justice as the goal of a formal and woodenly staunch setting. While this is not the only setting where justice is needed and applied, it is a good mental image worth conjuring during the smaller moments that require justice. Here’s why: while not every incident or accusation leads to the courtroom, the same standards and procedures of justice are just as applicable around the dining room table and concerning drama in your county, town, or neighborhood. In other words, justice may change in its scope, but not in its nature. It’s a fixed thing, because God said so.

If you think that understanding biblical justice doesn’t apply to you, or shouldn’t be a priority for your mental capacities right now, I urge you to reconsider. The term “justice” has been coopted and replaced by a counterfeit that, when the justice-looking varnish is stripped away, we see the label “feelings” bleed through. Justice is sought by those who don’t understand what justice is nor upon what foundation it rests. Justice becomes the battle cry of people who are actually seeking vengeance and self-promotion.

Let me give some examples that may sound familiar. You’ve likely encountered something close to one or more of these.

A local couple become bitter against a prominent figure in their town or county. They feel like this figure is an obstacle to their own prominence and position (whether its in the area of business, politics, or something else), so they begin an online campaign to discredit the figure. They begin (seemingly) innocently enough. They ask simple questions that are worded just so that they cause the reader to faintly hear their implications. Eventually, their questions morph into full-blown scrutiny. They make false assumptions. They entertain the testimony of malicious witnesses. They take quotes out of context and fail to believe the best. They simplify arguments and create a straw man of the one they wants to destroy, all in the name of “justice.” Meanwhile, their Bibles collect dust. They want you to join them in believing this figure is objectively a bad guy. They want their problem to become your problem. And you had better join them. You care about justice, don’t you?

Here’s another example. A man joins a smalltown church and becomes comfortable there. He holds a position of some visibility. His ministry position keeps him busy and gives him some purpose. He likes things the way they are. That is, at least, until leadership make some much-needed changes in the church. “How could they not consult me? Don’t they see my opinion as valuable? I’m not sure I like where they are taking the church,” and so on. The man becomes resentful toward the elders and starts taking notes. Little dissatisfactions begin to fill his mind and that Google Doc he created. He shares them with others, planting doubt in their minds. Things get to the point where the elders can do nothing right in his eyes. He’s made up his mind about them, and he’s building his case for leaving, but in such a way that his departure is demonstrably their fault. If only there were justice, so he says, he might be able to stay. His frustration culminates in the delivery of a manifesto that includes lies, anonymous testimony of “others,” and patently wrong conclusions he’s made about the leadership with the only counsel he deems worthy: his own. You have no choice but to take this mountain of data seriously. After all, you care about justice, don’t you?

Let me offer one more. A woman becomes dissatisfied in her marriage. This could be for a number of reasons. Maybe her knight in shining armor turned out to be more of a court jester. Perhaps physical intimacy was not all she’d heard it was cracked up to be. Or maybe she’d taken the full dosage of feminism that the culture had prescribed, and she came to realize that archaic ideas like children, modesty, domesticity, and fidelity don’t really fit into that “vibe.” It’s hard to get “likes” on Instagram from the feminist superiors when your photos are crowded by snotty kids and a blue-collared husband. Whatever the reason, she starts building her case for victimhood. You can bet she’ll be mentioning her feelings an awful lot. There will be tears. Once she has your attention, she’ll start using words like “hurt” and “unsafe” without acknowledging the need to clarify what in the world she means by those words. She knows she can get away with this, because no one in their right mind will challenge a crying lady in the 21st century. Don’t ask questions. Just believe her. You care about justice, don’t you?

If we, the people of God, don’t understand what God says about justice (true justice), we’ll fall prey to opportunistic bullies; sentiment-worshipping, self-proclaimed “victims” who seek their own self-interest at your expense. They will accuse you, drag you through the mud, ruin your reputation and move on. Here’s some good news, though - like all bullies, they normally only have as much power as you give them.

You don’t have to play the game. You can keep your lunch money. Rather than just hide under the slide (keeping with the bully analogy), you can be proactive in standing against them. There are ways to take the teeth out of their bite, the wind out of their sails, or whatever “disarming” image you prefer.

What I’d like to do in the next couple of posts is summarize what the Bible says about true justice and how the modern Christian, family, church, and even society can uphold these principles today. I pray this appeal blesses you. Our age is litigious and rampant with those who buy and sell with the currency of accusation and credibility. Let’s be aware.

More to come.

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