In this current age of technological enslavement and in particular during the COVID 19 pandemic, when much of our interaction is on Facebook and other social media, people are quick to judge and offer opinions they would never articulate face to face. It is in this desire for justice that we often cross the line between a genuine quest for equitable treatment and a hypocritical condemnation seeking retribution.
When a murderer is sentenced to life in prison it is said that justice has been served however, there is no payment for that sin that will restore the lost relationships with the victim and in fact, every person missing their relationship with the deceased is a victim of the crime in question. As long as we live on this earth we can never replace what has been stolen from us by those who trespass against us. Victims of abuse, be it sexual, physical, emotional or otherwise, live with the trauma of that experience regardless of whether the perpetrator has been found guilty in a court of law and punished.
No matter what we do, we can never truly achieve impartiality apart from the justice of God. The Bible says, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay.’ says the Lord.” Romans 12:19. Only God can see what lies in the heart. Only God knows who has sincerely repented of their sins. Our incapability of knowing the truth signifies our disqualification as dispassionate and unbiased judges of others.
We must never forget that we are all flawed and that none of us are perfect. While we may search for and crave righteousness, it is this very aspiration that leaves us vulnerable to our own fallibility. The apostle Paul wrote, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. None of us can boast that we have credibility before God’s court without the atonement of Jesus on our behalf therefore, it is only through faith in Christ that we can stand at all because our faith is credited to us as righteousness (Romans 4:5).
It is tremendously liberating to lay our worries at the foot of the cross knowing that God will make things right in the end and furthermore release us from the bondage of resentment and bitterness here and now. Being able to forgive ourselves as well as those who have wronged us is made possible by the forgiveness offered to us through the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
My home was broken into three times in just over a year and my response after losing most of my personal possessions, because of my own faith, was to pray for the thieves. I recognized that what they took amounted to “stuff” and that their lives had their own set of difficulties, whether it be addiction to drugs or whatever drove them to stealing, and that one day they will stand before God just as I will. While it hurt to lose my laptop with all the pictures of my kids from the past twenty years, I felt a sense of pity for those who resorted to looting to pay for their next fix.
In our hunger for fairness and thirst for justice we must remember that God loves each and every one of us. He created us in his image and while he may hate our sins, he loves us and prefers that we all repent of our sins and come to him for salvation. Rather than being quick to judge our fellow human beings and bombard each other with hypocritical rhetoric on social media, it is prudent to show compassion and love in our interactions. God loves us and desires for us all to come to him. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
