Is Justice Possible?
Last year I had the opportunity to visit the Civil and Human Rights Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. The majority of the exhibits revealed the pain and injustice experienced by the African American community in the United States. One display captured my attention and emotions. It required me to sit, place my palms on a table and fasten headphones on my ears to listen to vicious taunts that escalated life-threatening threats against a black man entering a predominately white restaurant to have a meal. The exhibit’s purpose was to challenge one’s emotional capacity to listen to the vile language spewed by racist and hateful people towards a black man without removing the headphones. Experiencing a glimpse into his life was unbearable and heartbreaking. The museum is a testament to the inequality and discrimination experienced by the black community for generations.
Experiencing the exhibit at the Civil Rights Museum
The protests over George Floyd’s murder highlight our innate desire for justice. The video of a policeman mercilessly kneeling on Floyd’s neck as his breath slipped away should incite indignation and vengeance. How could a human being, particularly one who has sworn an oath to serve and protect, blatantly kill another?
Crowds of people in the US and the world continue to protest, demanding justice and expressing their frustration, anger and disappointment with perpetual incidents of racism, notably against the black community. We wonder, when will the evils of racism be eradicated?
Responding with Anger
The natural response to injustice is to express anger, particularly when someone is deprived of life or liberty, and the assailant escapes prosecution. C.S. Lewis once said, “Lay before him [God] what is in us, not what ought to be in us.” God is big enough to handle our most vicious complaints and frustrations. A collection of psalms, known as imprecatory psalms, invoke judgement, calamity and curses upon one’s enemies. For example, Psalm 137 describes the sorrow and pain of Jewish captives who were led naked in chains to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem. In anger, the people cried out, demanding retribution, “Happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks” (Psalm 137:9). These strong words of vengeance are a natural response to injustice. We should not be ashamed of verbalizing them. However, God desires our rage to be directed to him, the righteous judge, instead of people.
Anger will drive us in one of two directions. First, allowing anger to ferment creates the risk of distorting the injustice and amplifying the threat. Fermented anger may motivate one to seek revenge and retaliation through physical or emotional harm. We should be careful not to perpetuate a problem by responding to the evil around us with evil within us.
The alternative path that anger can point us toward is effective change. Being angry with injustice should motivate us to advocate for justice and resolve problems.
Anger can either propel us forward or perpetuate the present.
But is justice possible, especially in our present societal climate?
Two forms of justice
In Romans 12:17-19, Apostle Paul gives valuable advice when confronting injustice by saying, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
In this passage, Paul highlights two essential approaches to justice. The first is to do what is right, or in other words, seek to provide and advocate justice to all. The second is to trust God that he will administer justice.
Justice requires us to act while trusting in God’s final judgement.
I would like to concentrate on two models of justice: retributive justice and restorative justice.
What is our responsibility?
We are to ensure fair judicial systems exist to execute retributive justice for those who participate in criminal activity. If illegal activity is unpunished, it will not only perpetuate crimes but also incite violence and anarchy. When a person or group is consistently oppressed without relief, it is understandable for them to retaliate against their perpetrators.
The citizens of Minneapolis were outraged when the police officers did not receive just punishment for their murder. Although the officers were fired from their jobs, the discipline was not proportional to the crime. Protestors across the country demanded justice, and only after days of marching on the streets were murder charges finally filed. An apology or expressing remorse isn’t sufficient for certain crimes. In specific situations, some level of consequence is required for justice to be met. Retributive justice, dispensed by a fair judicial system, is essential for a society to be secure.
However, equitable justice is not solely punitive. Justice also involves restoration and rehabilitation. We should aspire to repair the harm caused by criminal behaviour. The people most affected by injustice should be allowed to participate in a cooperative process to experience healing and find a resolution of peace.
The justice of God’s kingdom should inspire us to influence public policies and legislation that create a just society. By identifying social structures that allow oppression and inequality to persist, we can rectify existing broken systems. While some actively perpetuate abuse, others may unknowingly receive privileges from unfair social structures. We have to ask ourselves sincerely, do we actively or passively commit injustice?
In a world filled with inequality, oppression, and exploitation, followers of Jesus are to be advocates for justice. God is concerned with manifesting his kingdom life in every realm of creation. We are to function relationally in our family and society with fairness, generosity and kindness. If we all treated each other charitably, then punishing wrongdoers would be rendered unnecessary.
God provides a blueprint for how to respond to injustice.
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Prov 31:8-9)
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor, the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. (Jer. 22:3)
In this charged moment of racial tension, our collective society needs to support the black community who have experienced centuries of oppression and discrimination. As we educate ourselves in their history and understand their present challenges, we will be equipped with compassion and wisdom to stand with them for a better world.
A famous idiom says, “Before you judge a person, walk a mile in their shoes.” It is a helpful reminder to practise empathy by seeking to understand another’s experiences and challenges.
Some may dislike the protests or condemn the rioting, but when you realize that a group of people have endured hundreds of years of systemic racism and oppression, it should cause us to lament with them in their pain and cry out with them for equity.
While revenge against one’s aggressors is a natural recourse, Paul explicitly warns us against seeking to retaliate, especially with violence. By doing so, we essentially handcuff God from exercising his judgment and wrath. When we refrain from physical revenge, it creates space for God to work (Rom. 12:7-9).
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence, you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence, you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
While we endeavour to establish judicial systems that administer retributive justice and advocate for restorative justice, realistically, we will never be able to eradicate all injustice. Does that mean we should stop trying? No! While we strive for an ideally just society, we know it is impossible without God’s intervention.
God’s role
God will administer both retributive and restorative justice. He will deal with the eradication of evil, sin and death once and for all and also put everything right through the processes of restoration, renewal, recompense and reconciliation.
Paul encourages us to trust God for justice. He says to leave room for God’s wrath because he will avenge the innocent. God will not allow anyone to get away with exploiting another. God is consistently portrayed in scripture as a righteous judge (Gen. 18:25).
When life seems unfair, and hope seems far off, we can find solace in knowing that justice will ultimately be adjudicated, and God will amend all wrong. There is no justice without judgement. God has set a day when he will judge the world with justice through Jesus, whom he has appointed (Acts 17:31).
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (Ecc. 12:14). Be assured that all sin, all evil, all oppression, and all inequality will pass through the filter of God’s justice.
For those of us who live with a sense of security, freedom, wealth, and comfort, the topic of justice and judgment are often uncomfortable to discuss. However, if we truly seek justice for the weak, powerless, and marginalized, rendering judgement is necessary.
If we lived under an oppressive regime, faced the likelihood of death, suffered unfair imprisonments, or even witnessed the brutal killing of family members, we would demand freedom and justice. Revelation 6:9-10 records the voices of martyrs killed for their faith crying out to God for retribution, saying, “How long Lord will you wait before avenging our deaths.” Their lives were cut short and they longed for the day when God will put things right and avenge their perpetrators.
As we witness the anger, rage and cries for prosecution by a nation (rightfully so) at the deliberate murder by a policeman, I can only imagine the temperature of God’s wrath as he witnesses the collective injustice in the world occurring 24/7. The wheels of justice turn slowly but grind exceedingly fine. God will have the final word, and “when justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous, but terror to evildoers” (Proverbs 21:15).
New Creation
We are generally averse to the word judgment because it conjures frightening and negative mental images. However, throughout scripture, God’s coming judgment is something yearned for and celebrated. It is a time when God will put everything in order, eradicate evil and recompense those who suffered injustice. For people who have cried, ‘how long Lord?’, the day of judgement will provide relief and satisfaction as they say, ‘finally!’ For God to be good, he must be a God of judgement.
So, is justice possible? Yes! Will we experience its fullness before the dawn of God’s new creation? No, unfortunately; not while sin still infects us and distorts our view of each other. Yet as we strive to walk humbly, love mercy, and do justly, we can make our world a better place. We are not building the kingdom of God, but we are building for the kingdom of God. When we act justly to our neighbour we become signposts pointing to life in the new creation. Jesus has called us to model a lifestyle that reflects his love, grace and mercy in anticipation when a great multitude of people, from every nation, tribe, and language gather together as one. We can rest knowing that the day is coming when the fullness of God’s kingdom will be on earth as it is in heaven.
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