linuslive.com

Not a day goes by when I read the news and am appalled by a verdict.  Many of us see corruption around us.  If you live in DC, it’s more rampant and is obscured by political double-talk and cover-ups.  “Enron”, “O.J. Simpson”, “Exxon”, “Martha Stewart”.  Thinking of any one of these companies or people brings up images of scandal, side deals, and injustice.

Look at the world around us.  Human trafficking has become one of the fastest growing crimes in the world, particularly because it is so difficult to track down the leader.  Children are kidnapped in the middle of the night and brainwashed to become drone soldiers to fight a war that predates even the kidnappers.

Everyday, murders go free because of legal technicalities.  Rapists continue to roam the streets, despite having been in jail for 10, 15, or even 20 years.

We look at this and we ask, “Is this justice?”

It’s easy, isn’t it?  To look from the outside, removed from the circumstances…

But I don’t think many of us realize that there is something inherently dangerous about justice.  It’s easy to see things from the victim’s point of view.  But how often do you consider the other side of the story?  Do we even care?

A couple of days ago, a news story broke about a man who was walking out of a supermarket after purchasing about $120 worth of groceries.  He was stopped at the door and asked to show his receipt.  Apparently, he had forgotten to pay for a 6-pack of soda that was at the bottom of the cart.  The police officer stopped the man and arrested him for petty theft.  $4.00 worth of soda.

I’ve actually done this before.  I was at Ikea and buying all sorts of cool stuff.  I forgot three items at the bottom of the cart.  I didn’t realize I didn’t pay for them until I got home.  The next day, I went back and told them that I didn’t pay for them.  They rang me up and that was the end of that.  No arrest.  In fact, they thanked me for being honest.  The total purchase was about $12.00.

There was instant outrage that this man was outraged.  The police station received numerous angry phone calls, demanding that the arresting officer be fired immediately.  “The police officer completely over-stepped his bounds.”  “What an asshole!”  “Store is evil!  Boycott!”

Twenty-four hours later, the police station, along with the supermarket, released the video footage that showed that he was actually trying to steal the soda.  He later admitted at the police station that he was attempting to shoplift.

The police station didn’t receive any calls of apology.  The store didn’t get a single e-mail afterward.

Many of us believe that we have a fair view of justice; in reality, it’s more twisted and biased than the world around us.

The idea of justice is embedded in every one of us.  Every one of us, at one point or another, have said, “That’s not fair!”  Every one of us has even asked for mercy when we did something wrong.

Are we any different than the world?  We demand justice for others, but mercy for ourselves.  We cry, “Save Darfur” but then do nothing about it.

C. S. Lewis, on of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century, wrote that it is because of this idea of Justice God must exist.  There must exist a greater Judge who sees the pain and torture of this world and expels fair judgment.

It’s much easier to say that we know better than to admit we were wrong.  It’s much more convenient to blame someone else instead of taking the fall.

The point of justice is not to be fair.  Please read this again.  The point of justice is not to be fair. 

The point of justice is to restore peace.  The point of the Cross was not about paying for man’s sins.  The point was to bridge the rift that separated us from God.  The point of sending a murder to jail is not about bringing fairness to his victim.  It’s about bringing closer to the family.

Asking why justice is so unfair is like asking why other people make more money than I do.  This concept of unfairness opens us up to questions that many of us are afraid to answer.  If I was the murder, would I want to go to jail for life?  If stole the soda, would I try to just pay the merchant back?

We need justice in our lives.  God’s justice is perfect.  Not only does he restore peace, but he does it fairly.  No one in heaven will say, “Wow, that guy got hosed.  Man, he just got creamed.  He got what he deserved.”  Instead, I think most people will say, “Wow, what kind of God could forgive a person like that?  What kind of God could forgive a person like me?”