James 2:6-7 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7
Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
A few days ago I spent some time with an unsaved friend named Steve who is almost always found sitting outside his house with other people from the community on cool afternoons. His street is one of those places were men and women gather to discuss the worlds problems, and maybe even try to solve a few.
That afternoon they were discussing the upcoming St. Vincent election which in the town I live was a controversial subject. The individual and party who had been in power for sometime so there was a growing group of individuals who felt the time for a change had come. Since I’ve only been on the island a few months instead we ended up talking about American and Australian politics for a half-hour.
Towards the end Steve held out his hands and tried to articulate the frustration in my his mind about the current political situation. I said it seemed as if he was seeking justice and Steve responded “yes that’s it! I want justice!”
While I understood Steve’s frustration (and had felt it myself before) in my heart I knew his desire for justice would go unfulfilled.
Part of the reason for this is the way humans view justice is flawed in itself. The way we see it “justice” equals getting whatever we want, or more than everyone else. Sadly though that’s an obviously selfish viewpoint many of us don’t see a problem with it.
The real problem though is the fact that true justice is impossible in this broken world apart from Christ our true king A big part of this brokenness is the fact that power corrupts people. Those who have true character or morality will give into the lure of power or riches eventually. This is just God’s way of reminding us true justice cannot come from human leadership.
A few weeks ago I was having a discussion with a Believer about how Christians can help the city of Barroaille, and his answer was to have new national leadership. This frustration stemmed from the fact that individuals who were part of a political party not in power were having a hard time finding jobs, while those who followed the one in power were always offered them.
I agreed that this is an injustice, but asked what would happen if there was a change of power. Things would then be reversed so those who had jobs now lost them. He finally threw his hands up and said “well somebody has to come and make it fair” to which I smiled and asked “who is going to do that?”
Sadly justice…true justice won’t be experienced while we have fallen human leaders. It’s easy to become bitter and angry about this fact, but personally it creates a stronger desire for Christ to return and set things straight.
So as we encounter a word that cries out for justice, may our response be “even so come Lord Jesus.”
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