Justice: Be Careful What You Ask for
What if we all got the justice we deserve?
A few weeks ago, while musing on the rampant injustice in our society, these words popped into my head:
JUSTICE: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR.
Many of us ache to see justice. Whether it’s over the those in high places who (literally) get away with murder…whether it’s media suppression of “inconvenient truths”…whether it’s the killing of innocent ones born or unborn…or whether it’s a personal injustice…we want to see the guilty pay. And rightly so. Justice, after all, is a very biblical concept.
But to desire justice without God’s mercy is to completely miss God’s heart. And when we miss His heart, we miss the mark. That, my friends, is the very definition of sin.
In other words, an unrestrained desire for justice can have very negative spiritual consequences.
When the LORD arrested my thoughts a few weeks ago, He reminded me of the justice I deserve. Not a pleasant thought — for any of us.
Knowing the reality of the justice we deserve apart from God’s mercy, do we really want that justice without mercy for those who may be enemies of the truth? If so, then check your heart. Measure it against God’s mercy toward Paul. Measure it against God’s mercy through Paul toward Paul’s enemies (Romans 11:28). After you’re done measuring, see where you weigh on the scales.
Again, I’m not saying it’s wrong to desire justice. Not hardly! But if we don’t also desire His mercy upon those we perceive as enemies, we who follow Jesus are no better than carnal pagans. In fact, we may indeed become His enemy without knowing it.
