justice

Isaiah 61:8: “‘For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.’”

One of the things that is very clear throughout scripture is where God stands when it comes to justice. The verse above is part of a passage where God lays out his plans for his people and explains why he visits judgment on some.

If I want to have the heart of God, I should love justice. Do I? Do I love it when everything is fair, or do I kind of prefer that me and my kind have an advantage? My Tac Officer at the Infantry Officer’s Advanced Course frequently said, “You should never get into a fair fight. You fight only when the odds are in your favor.” Is that how I feel about life? Do I want the deck stacked so that I have the best chance?

That’s not justice. Loving justice means I should be able to say, “That law would cost me money, but it would sure help people who need help, so I’m all for it.” Loving justice means I should be able to say, “I’ve had success, sure, but not because I’m a better person. I can see that I’ve had supporters and opportunities that other people haven’t. We should work to open those same doors to more people.” Loving justice means I should be able to see the needs of other people as having priority over my own needs.

And loving justice means I should hate injustice. I should hate it when clever people manage to take things from honest people – that’s robbery, and it happens far too often in ways that aren’t technically illegal. I should hate it when people hurt other people, or diminish the beauty God created – that’s wrongdoing, and it seems often to be applauded rather than condemned. 

Do I love justice and hate robbery and wrongdoing, like God tells me he does? I want to think so, but does my life show it? To paraphrase the old challenge, if I was on trial for this, would there be enough evidence to convict me? If I want to say yes, then I should be able to point to that evidence.