Some thoughts about justice

This morning I’m reading from Psalm 103. Particularly, I was struck by verses 8-14.

⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

⁹ He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

¹² as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

Throughout the Bible, one of most often repeated words that is used is the word “justice.” It’s an important word for us as we seek to understand both God’s character and God’s intentions for God’s world. Where I sometimes get sidetracked in my way of thinking is that I often associate the word “justice” with the word “fairness.”

And yet throughout the Bible, we get a sense that these two words are not interchangeable in the way that the Bible talks about justice.

In the teachings of Jesus, perhaps the best illustration is the story of the workers from Matthew 20 who are hired at different times of the day to work in the field for a landowner. Each of them agrees to work for the same pay, but as the pay is being distributed at the end of the day and those who have only worked a short time are paid the amount guaranteed to everyone, those who have worked all day long begin to believe that their reward will be greater than expected.

Much to their dissapointment, everyone receives the agreed upon rate regardless of the amount of time they worked.

It doesn’t seem fair, does it?

If you work more, you deserve more… at least that’s what our notion of fairness has taught us to think.

But here again verse 10… “he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities…”

Just like Jesus’ story in Matthew 20, it doesn’t seem fair, does it?

The only difference is that we have a greater appreciation for this side of grace.

When grace is given to us, we celebrate.

When it is shared with others, we sometime grumble.

Why?

Because of that pesky little word… fair.

And if “fairness” remains as a primary component of our definition of justice, God is going to continually disappoint us. Because as much as we might like to think otherwise, the real truth is that God’s love isn’t fair. I know it’s a tough pill to swallow.

Yet on the flip side, if you are, as the psalmist writes, “dust…” perhaps we might learn to appreciate the lack of fairness in God’s sense of justice.

After all, we are all but blind beggars desperately searching to find our way home.

Maybe, the truth that God’s love isn’t fair isn’t such bad news after all.

Categories: Bible Study