He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? [Micah 6:8 (ESV)]
…learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. [Isaiah 1:17 (ESV)]
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. [Proverbs 31:8-9 (ESV)]
In 1 Kings 21, we learn of Naboth, the owner of a vineyard adjacent to King Ahab’s palace in Jezreel. A choice piece of real estate, Ahab wanted it for himself and offered to purchase or exchange it for other land. Property, however, wasn’t to be treated as a real estate investment—it was to remain in the family to which it had been allotted. Because Jewish law prohibited Naboth from selling his ancestral land, he rejected the king’s offer. Angry at his neighbor’s refusal’s, Ahab acted like a spoiled child, took to his bed, and refused to eat. Upon learning the reason for her husband’s sulking, Jezebel hatched a devious plan. She arranged for false accusations to be made against Naboth that would result in his immediate death. Jezebel’s evil plot went as planned and, upon news of their neighbor’s death, she told Ahab the land was his and he took it for himself!
Consider David—the king who took his neighbor’s wife, impregnated her, and then murdered her husband. When the Lord sent Nathan to confront David about his sins, he told the adulterous king a story about a rich man with several flocks and herds and a poor man who had but one ewe that had become a member of his family. When a guest visited the rich man, rather than slaughtering one of his lambs for the night’s feast, he took the poor man’s only ewe and served it for dinner. Outraged at the injustice dealt the poor man, David said the rich man deserved to die and must repay the poor man four times the lamb’s original cost. Until Nathan pointed out that David was that very man, the king (who had power, palace, and plenty of wives) hadn’t considered the injustice of his actions.
“Injustice is the second biggest sin the Bible talks about after idolatry,” said Jenn Petersen, Director of Mobilization for the International Justice Mission. Wondering if she were correct, I checked my ESV Bible. While idol, idols, and idolatry are used 157 times, the words justice (112) and injustice (26) ran a close second with 138 uses. Moreover, the word “just” indicating morally right or fair was used more than 40 times! In comparison to these sins, adultery was mentioned only 39 times, murder 59 times, and theft, steal, and stealing a total of 33 times. It seems justice is important to God.
Often defined as a violation of someone’s rights or unfairness to another, injustice is an act that inflicts undeserved hurt. The KJV dictionary defines injustice as (1) “Iniquity; wrong; any violation of another’s rights, as fraud in contracts, or the withholding of what is due. It has a particular reference to an unequal distribution of rights, property or privileges among persons who have equal claims” and (2) “The withholding from another merited praise, or ascribing to him unmerited blame.” In short, injustice is any act that violates God’s moral law.
Because it corrupts His world, God hates injustice; nevertheless, it seems part and parcel of today’s world. As Christ followers, how do we respond to the injustice around us? We err by limiting justice to a set of rules or to causing harm to someone as did Jezebel, Ahab, and David. Injustice can be found in what we fail to do, as well. There is injustice in any lack of charity—in not loving our neighbors as ourselves. Every time we fail to extend a helping hand when it is in our power to do so, we are as guilty of injustice as were the priest and Levite who ignored the injured man in the parable of the Good Samaritan or the rich man who ignored the cries of the beggar Lazarus at his gate in another parable. Let us always remember that, regardless of where they live, every man and woman is our neighbor!
While we easily see the injustice of the evil Jezebel and Ahab and people like Stalin, Lenin, Hitler, Mao Zedong, and Idi Amin. I can’t help but wonder if, like David, we fail to have 20/20 vision when it comes to our own behavior. Let’s not forget that, whenever we minister to those less fortunate, we are ministering to the Lord Himself!
Helping “all people” is not optional, it is a command. [Timothy Keller]
“For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?” Then he will answer them, saying, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” [Matthew 25:42-45 (ESV)]
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We tend to think of fasting during Lent as abstaining from certain foods, drinks, or activities. Several years ago, however, I was asked, “What if you fasted regret? What if your friends fasted comparison? What would be the fruit of fasting stinginess?” Those questions proposed an entirely different kind of fast than refraining from sweets or social media. In truth, fasting from things like self-righteousness, discontent, and criticism is probably harder (and more meaningful) than giving up energy drinks or dining out.
Tomorrow, December 6, is the Feast of St. Nicholas (or Sinterklass). Although it is difficult to know fact from fiction, we do know that St. Nicholas was born around 270 AD in Patara, a city in Lycia (modern day Turkey). The son of wealthy and devout parents, it was his uncle, the Bishop of Patara, who took charge of his spiritual life. Nicholas became the Bishop of Myra in Turkey, quite likely attended the council of Nicaea, spent seven years imprisoned under Diocletian Persecution, and died on December 6, around 343 AD. While we don’t know much about the man, he must have had a great impact on the early Christian church because, by 450 AD, churches in Asia Minor and Greece were named in his honor and, by the mid-6th century, the Emperor Justinian dedicated a church to him in Constantinople.
Hebrews 11 lists the great examples of faith found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Every story, however, has a supporting cast and, while we may not remember or even know their names, they played an important role in everyone’s story. We know Moses is one of those heroes of faith but what of the midwives Shiphrah and Puah? If they hadn’t defied Pharaoh’s orders to kill newborn Hebrew boys, Moses wouldn’t have lived long enough to be found by Pharaoh’s daughter let alone lead Israel to the Promised Land!
Jeopardy introduced me to the word “performative” but, in an article about how scandals are hurting organized religion, the New York Times introduced me to another new word, “orthopraxy.” While “orthodoxy” means correct belief, doctrine, or teaching, “orthopraxy” has to do with correct practice, behavior, or action. Orthodoxy says, “Hear my words!” but orthopraxy says, “Watch my behavior!” With the flood of scandals throughout the Christian church, it’s easy to point our fingers at the disgraced Christian celebrities, megachurch pastors, and Roman Catholic priests whose orthodoxy didn’t match their orthopraxy—people who espoused devotion to God and adherence to His word while disregarding it in their own lives. Let’s remember, however, that whenever we point a finger at someone, three other fingers point at us! Although the Times article was about the disconnect between orthodoxy and orthopraxy in the church at large, there’s often a disconnect between the two in our personal lives, as well.
In the category of “Newer Words,” the night’s Final Jeopardy clue was, “Philosopher’s use it for language that accompanies an action, like ‘I dub thee knight’; it also means done for show or signal.” The correct response was “performative.” A new word to me, I encountered it again the following day in an article by Rich Villodas about “performative spirituality.” After asking, ”If a good deed is not posted on social media, did it really happen?” Villodas continued with another rhetorical question, “If an act of generosity is not caught on camera and never goes viral, was it a worthwhile gesture?”
Devotions of the Heart 