What you are doing is not right. (Neh. 5:9)
FOR A SPORTS FAN, nothing is worse than watching a championship game, cheering for your team, and then looking on helplessly as you watch the referee make terrible calls that cost your team the win. Fans can cheer like crazy for their team and boo for the opponents, but nothing gets a crowd riled up like a blind ref. We all have an internal “justice meter” that knows what is fair and right. When that sense of justice is violated, we expect someone in charge to step in. If they don’t, we want to take matters into our own hands. This response is true in sports, law, and even an elementary school classroom.
Sometimes we blame God for allowing injustice in society. But God has given his authority to leaders to bring goodness in his world. Government officials have God-granted power to ensure justice. Parents have a responsibility to discipline their children, to help them learn what’s right, and to keep them safe from harm. Bosses have a responsibility toward their employees. Teachers must ensure safety and fairness in their classrooms. Often, injustice prevails due not to the negligence of God, but to the cowardice of leaders.
Regardless of what level of authority God has given you, he expects that you lead on his behalf, which means calling fouls and helping those in your care play by the rules.
Don’t turn a blind eye to an act of injustice.
Jarod Osborne is lead pastor of Pathway Church, Warsaw, Indiana. He is the author of Jaded Faith (WPH).
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
