By Jamin Roller
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 16:19, Psalm 94:1-23, Proverbs 29:7, Hebrews 13:3, Isaiah 1:17, Psalm 68:4-10, Ezekiel 34:11-16, Matthew 25:35-40
“That’s not fair!”
I didn’t have to teach my children these words. They flow out of the mouth from somewhere deep in the human heart.
When one child gets a single piece of candy and the other child gets five.
When one is playing with the ball first and the other takes it away.
When one gets in trouble for something and the other doesn’t.
“That’s not fair!”
Our hearts long for justice. We were made by a good God, and we are living in a world that we still hold to the good standard of God’s original design. Not every “that’s not fair” moment is a legitimate experience of injustice, but the desire for an equitable world finds its origins in the God of Genesis 1.
As followers of Jesus it is important that we align with the heart of God in what we label as unfair. We get a glimpse of this in the passages we read today. When the wicked prosper, when rulers show partiality, when children are fatherless, when people live in hunger and poverty, when widows are oppressed, when Christians are imprisoned for their faith…Our hearts cry, “That’s not fair!”
Our longing for true justice reflects the heart of a just God. He is the God who describes Himself as a “father of the fatherless and a champion of widows” (Psalm 68:5). He sees the plight of the oppressed and He is moved to action. This aspect of God’s heart is also visible in the life of Jesus. The emotion most often ascribed to Jesus in the Gospels is compassion, and He called on His disciples to be moved by compassion for those in need (Matthew 25:35–40). To state it plainly, our God cares deeply about injustice and is committed to bringing the justice of heaven to earth.
As followers of Jesus, we want to contend for the heart of God in the way we respond to injustice in the world. There is so much we cannot control, but even the simple act of grieving what grieves the heart of God is a righteous response. We can celebrate the injustice-free kingdom of God that Jesus inaugurated here on earth even as we look forward to the day He will bring it in full.
We can also be faithful to offer acts of compassion and meet needs around us as ambassadors of that kingdom. God’s justice is both retributive (punishing those who perpetuate evil) and restorative (restoring basic needs to the vulnerable and oppressed). We are not asked to take part in God’s retributive justice, but we are commanded to be part of the restorative. This is what Jesus commands of His people in Matthew 25. We cannot meet every need, but every need we do meet is an act of justice that honors our Savior and King.
After reading these verses today, I am praying for my own heart—for my “that’s not fair” responses to align with God’s heart, not my own interests. May we all be moved with compassion so that the orphan-loving, widow-championing heart of God is visible in our lives.
Written by Jamin Roller
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