When people are not fair in the provision of justice, they will be despised. At least, this is the teaching of Malachi 2:9 when it refers to judgmentalism: 9 “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”
Political judgmentalism in today’s social media has become a terrible visible thing. We do not need ANY name calling, bickering, or over-the-top rhetoric in our social discourse! Occasionally, I may read it ,but I will not participate in it; I choose to use my own voice on my own page, where I will not allow censorship and unfair perspectives. We all need to be willing to listen to both sides of a discussion. In Exodus 23:1-3 it says “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. 2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.
In the Old Testament (especially during the days of the Exodus), there are several times when God told Israel: “kill them all!“. As a new believer I struggled with this. Surely there were some redeemable people that did not warrant this judgemental thoroughness! I discovered the resolution for this was easier to understand than I expected. At some point, we have to explain ‘what is justice?’. Justice has to be based on a standard of just laws, appropriately applied. The master and creator of the universe is our best judge. He can and will apply justice fairly. Some people may see this logic as simplistic, but you have to consider — there has to be a standard for justice. Is there anyone better at determining what is appropriate? I do not have to fully understand it. I only have to agree with who needs to serve it up.
God’s Justice
There is a difference between God’s definition of justice and the layman’s definition of justice. God does not favor rich or poor, confident nor downtrodden. But, advocates say ‘social justice is needed to even things out’ — that we need to favor the have-nots over the haves—the poor over the rich, etc. And yet, if we look at the teachings of Paul, in I Timothy 5, he instructs teachers and leaders: 21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
My comments today are inspired by remarks from Allie Beth Stuckey, host of Relatable on BlazeTV, by way of a Prager University post. She rightly observes that there is no concept of social justice in the Bible. In her words: …any time we put an adjective before the word “justice,” we no longer have justice. Economic justice, racial justice, environmental justice—any form of “social” justice which seeks to “correct” actual justice—undermines justice. So, then, if social justice is not a biblical concept, why do so many churches and synagogues promote it? Because many Christians and Jews no longer regard biblical principles as binding. Because it’s a lot easier to dispense compassion than hold people to a biblical standard. And because leftism has superseded the Bible in many houses of worship—and leftism, as a guiding principle, holds that the weak are good and the powerful are bad.
In our current day and age, standing firm on Biblical conviction is getting harder, but not impossible. I would love to hear comments from people on how you are making a difference , while not letting the rhetoric overwhelm you.
