By: Mike Kelly
Retired Pastor
This month, I’m taking a few articles published on Facebook by Kent Hardy, a friend of mine, who has granted me permission to expand on his writings.
This one focuses on our desire for justice, or more correctly, on why we desire justice. Ever found yourself speeding and thinking “Thank goodness, no cops saw me,” Then later seeing someone pass by you like you were standing still and wondering “Where are the cops when you need one?”
Well, that’s kind of the topic today. We rejoice when we are not punished, and we often wish punishment on others. So, ask yourself: “Why do I want justice for them but not me?”
Many religious people like us fixate on the punitive dimension of justice. We keep score of everyone’s good and bad behavior, with a heart to be sure they are punished for their bad behavior.
Then, we heap scorn, shame, and condemnation on the worst transgressors so they know we are superior to them. By clearly defining who is wrong and more sinful, we get to feel more righteous and holy about our behavior. We want God to see how evil they are and how holy we are by comparison, so that we can be his “good kids”.
Such a feeling helps explain why Jonah reacted so negatively when God responded to the guilty in Nineveh with compassion. Remember how Jonah responded to God’s mercy?
Jonah 4:1-4 “But to Jonah this seemed very wrong (God redeeming the Ninevites), and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish.
I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
God’s mercy violates and deconstructs our sense of righteous superiority. We wrongly believe that our elevation requires another’s condemnation.
Jonah would rather die than see himself as needing the same mercy as the sinful people of Nineveh…even when he did.
Of course, it is not wrong to want justice and want evil punished and good rewarded. Throughout the Scriptures, the oppressed cry out to God for justice against their enemies, and he answers them.
Read Ps 18 and see God’s response to a cry for mercy. Here’s just 3 verses: “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” v6 and “He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.” v9-10. God comes to administer justice and mercy on our behalf.
But the real question to ask ourselves is this: Why do I want justice? Is it because I ache over the evil in the world and for those hurt by it? Or do I want justice because when the guilty are condemned, my own righteousness rises?
Do I want justice because I desire the healing and restoration of broken relationships and communities, or because I feel those who’ve done wrong are unworthy of the status I desire for myself?
If you’re unsure about your motives, consider this question: If God were to forgive the person you despise the most, would you join the celebration?
Would you consider it right and a cause for rejoicing if God were to extend mercy to the one who abused you? To the one who stole from you? To the one who broke your heart? To the one who abandoned you?
Remember the Lord’s reply to Jonah’s accusations about His mercy: “But the Lord replied, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’” Are you a Jonah in disguise?
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Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.