Scratching That Itch

 

In dry, cold weather my skin begins to itch. I slather on lotion, essentially taking a bath in it, and in a few hours it begins to itch again. But this is true for all things in this world. Solutions are always temporary and problems are seasonal. And I am a fixer. I become unhappy with this or that and I search for the YouTube video that will help me solve my problem. Occasionally I find a solution. But usually the solution is far too costly or it doesn’t come close to fixing the issue. If, by chance, the issue is fixed, I am quickly onto solving the next problematic matter. There is no end to this cycle! And there is always another itch to fix.

We all seem to be searching for a way to solve the issues of our world because we are unhappy with the way things are going. If only this decision would be made or if only this circumstance would change this would be a better place to live. If I were in power, I would… 

But I’m not in power. And if I was, my solution would not be good for everyone. It would only be good for me and that would be temporary. It would be much like those who win the lottery then quickly blow through that money and end up bankrupt. Or like those who are billionaires yet they are always looking for a way to make more money. There is never enough. They can never permanently scratch that itch and be satisfied. It becomes obvious that we live in a broken world. Will it ever be made right? 

The answer is an emphatic YES! For those of us who love God, we will see it all made right. That is God’s promise to us. Jesus is preparing a place for us where everything will be right. No more YouTube videos to fix stuff, unless you enjoy that sort of thing. No more politics. No more snarky memes. No more wars fighting over who is in power. No more cancer or death. It is God who is in power and we will all agree that his decisions are perfect. He is good, loving, kind, brilliant and all powerful. He is what we all long for. 

But the answer is also “not today”. So should we quit trying to scratch the itch? What do we do while we wait? How should we live? I believe that a concise answer that fits us all is given in Micah 6:8. Here it is as written in The Message translation:

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.

You will probably recognize it better in the NIV translation. 

Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Injustice for All

 

I had a dream. Oh my dreams are not anything like those of Martin Luther King. My dream was quite silly and I can only recall the smallest bit of it right before I woke up. In my dream I was upset by how unfairly vampires like me were treated. Yep. Nothing like MLK. But it got me thinking about the injustice of so many different groups and I realized that there is no justice for anyone on this earth.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33 [NIV]

Recently, I caught myself being angered over the snubbing of female vocal artists in country music. Another instance of my righteous indignation is that I am angered by how teachers are treated in our society. And another pet peeve of mine is how good leaders are ignored even though they choose to step up when others shrink back and judge. But what good is my anger? It only makes me bitter. And that is a weapon of the Enemy. My gut response to my very justified anger is not helpful. It is destructive. Maybe I don’t kill people or tear down store fronts, but I destroy my own peace. And that drains the God-given serenity from my soul.

So how are Christians to handle injustice? Are we supposed to accept it and pretend it doesn’t exist? I’m so glad you asked, because the Bible has so much to say about this topic that it could never be addressed in this little blog. So I will just hit on a few points. To get the real deal, you need to read the Bible. It is full of stories of injustice and it offers practical advice on how to handle each.

One such story is that of David and Bathsheba. It is full of injustice! It takes place after David has become accepted as the reigning King of the Israelites and is sitting pretty in the throne. He sees a hot woman bathing on her rooftop and wants her.(And it is not like he doesn’t already have wives of his own.) Long story short, David summons Bathsheba who is another man’s wife, gets her pregnant, tries to cover it up in several different unsuccessful ways until he resorted to murder. This story has plenty of injustice to go around. But God sends a justifier. He sends Nathan the preacher, to confront David. Nathan does not go in shouting hellfire and brimstone even though David definitely deserved it. I think Nathan was sent by God to address this injustice because Nathan knew how to be smart and control his righteous indignation. Nathan chose to approach David with a story of injustice about another guy who did a similar thing as David. And it worked like a charm. David was livid at the perpetrator in the story. Then, ever-so respectfully, while David was most vulnerable, Nathan tells David that he was this man. Nathan was not out to avenge the wrongs committed to Bathsheba or her husband, his endgame was repentance and change.

I think Nathan can teach us all how to handle injustice. First and foremost he was called by God to do this. If it is not a calling of God. I should not touch it. And I will only know what is my calling if I stay in God’s word and speak with Him frequently. Second, Nathan was not defending an injustice done to himself but was looking out for others. He had no skin in this game. We are called as Christians to look out for others rather than ourselves. If the cause benefits me and mine, it may not be what I need to be addressing. Third, he could control his anger. This is something that is learned by practice. Anger only brings out angry responses rather than remorse. In the case of justifying injustices, anger is seldom an effective tool.

Nathan used his God-given wisdom to address the situation one-to-one, in a non-confrontational manner. And by Nathan’s preparation, obedience, and the power of the Most High God he was effective! David repented and changed his ways. And the last point: If revenge rather than repentance is what I am looking for, my heart is not ready to confront anyone.

 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 [NIV}

So my take-away is that unless I am called and equipped by God, I do not need to handle injustices. I need to look for the injustice of others rather than myself and I need to check my anger at the door and be smart. Now is not the time to ignore social injustice but it is also not the time for vengeance. Now is the time to listen to what God is speaking into my heart and to defend the defenseless.

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I Want Justice!

The Bible is full of themes that tie it together from Genesis to Revelation.  My heart was filled when I discovered, or rather re-discovered, a theme yesterday.  So please give me the pleasure of tracing my steps with you.  

It started with the story in Genesis 27 of Jacob and Esau.  In a nutshell, Esau is Isaac’s first born son and Jacob tricks him out of his birthright with a pot of stew and some well-placed goat hide.  And just like that, Jacob the deceiver, steals the birthright from his brother. I get a little miffed every time I read about the connivance and deceit that goes on behind the scenes in this story.  While thinking about this unfairness another Bible story that seems unfair came to mind.  It was Job, a good guy that loses it all.  Understanding that story is no small undertaking.  And in the New Testament, the Christian-murdering Saul is given a second chance.  What about the parables of Jesus where some people are given more talents (gold) than others and the guy that gets the least buries it and gets scolded? Or the one where workers who were hired in the last hour received the same wages as those who worked all day?  And don’t forget the prodigal son who demands his inheritance, runs away and blows it all then comes crawling back to find a welcome home party fit for a king.  

Each of these stories makes me want to shout, “That is unfair!”  It is a gut reaction.  Isn’t God supposed to set things right?  If he doesn’t care about justice then what is this all about?  Why did God put all these difficult stories in the Bible?  By the way, this is more proof of the Bible's true author because humans would have edited these stories a long time ago. And why did so many of Jesus’ parables address tension over perceived injustices?  We humans care deeply about justice; at least justice on our terms and in our own eyes.  We care about justice from our point of view.  So how do we reconcile the appearance of inconsistency in God’s justice?  

While comparing these stories I saw something that I never noticed before.  In each of the stories above, the point was not the bad or good circumstances but how the main characters reacted to those circumstances.  Take a quick look at the end of each story.  Jacob the deceiver ended up struggling many years with his father-in-law and with God. He learned obedience and became the father of the Israelite nation. Job ended up even closer to God with a new view of God’s justice and blessed beyond measure. Saul the murderer, given a second chance became the Apostle Paul who is still teaching us 2000 years later. The servant who buried his talents remained bitter and fearful. The hired workers who worked all day for their promised wages got what they signed up for and the prodigal son was given a second chance just as God gives us all.  

In each of these instances God’s justice was in the changed life, or lack of, rather than on the unfair event.  It seems that God’s justice does not always happen by changing our fortune but by changing our hearts.  His currency is not ours.  That is why it is so hard to understand some of those Bible stories and why we struggle to understand God's justice.  God is a just God. There are many scriptures that tell us this in both Old and New Testament.  Here are a few of them.

Psalm 50:6 NIV

[6] And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice.

Isaiah 5:16 NIV

[16] But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts.

Matthew 12:18 NIV

[18] “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

Revelation 19:11 NIV

[11] I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.

We expect him to heal our body but he chooses to heal our hearts.  We expect him to reward our good behavior, but he sends rain that helps us grow.  We expect him to punish people who do us wrong but he chooses to give them (and us) a second chance.  We expect him to make things easier on us because we are good God-fearing folks, but he allows the tragedies of this world to prune us and force new growth in other parts of our life giving the opportunity to draw even closer to him.  We expect God to change our situation but God chooses to change our perspective in life.  Just because we lack the ability to predict God's justice doesn't make him unfair. We must start dealing in God’s currency to begin to understand his justice.

Isaiah 30:18 NIV

[18] Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Zechariah 7:9 NIV

[9] “This is what the Lord Almighty said: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.

Lord, help us to exhibit your true justice, full of mercy and compassion, and accept your justice even when we don’t understand.