Bible Studies for Life
There is something about the activity of the Holy Spirit in the child of God that causes us to hate injustice. We know when things are not as they should be, when there is an affront to the righteousness of God. We know the poor should be neither ignored nor exploited, that human trafficking should be stopped, and that orphans should not be stuck away in dirty, overcrowded buildings.
Injustice requires action
Injustice is an indicator that the kingdom of God is not fully come. Injustice indicates that His commands are not always obeyed. Injustice requires action from the people of God.
Scripture speaks numerous times as to God’s desire for justice:
“You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.”1
“You should not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit.”2
“You must not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear sighted and corrupts the words of the righteous.”3
The writer of the 31st Proverb spoke of a way to address injustice: “Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed. Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy.”4
Silence is not acceptable
Silence in the face of injustice, for those who follow Christ, is sinful. To put it another way, turning a blind eye to injustice allows it to continue. In our sin we allow others to continue in sin, and victims to continue suffering for it.
Three actions Christians can take toward injustice
- Remain biblically informed. Search the scriptures for verses related to God’s standard of justice. Find out how God wants us to treat the poor, the vulnerable, the weak, the orphan, the widow, and the immigrant. There really is no excuse for the people of God to be ignorant of God’s mind on matters of injustice.
- Become socially informed. There is no shortage of news reports and websites dedicated to information about orphan care, human trafficking, how to fight abortion, how to help the poor, protecting children and other important issues. At the very least, we should know how to become involved, who to write or call, and how to make information available.
- Become prayerfully involved. Not everyone will sit in the Oval Office or speak with an ambassador, but that should never stop anyone from making phone calls or sending emails. Sometimes it only takes one rational voice with a strong argument to win the day.
Justice requires us to pray and act
We simply cannot sit by and wish or hope that things will get better. We cannot even pray without action. Justice requires that we pray and allow God to use us however He sees fit.
1 Exodus 23:2
2 Exodus 23:3
3 Exodus 23:8
4 Proverbs 31:8, 9 (all verses HCSB)
5 Bible Studies for Life, Ready, Chip Ingram
