“Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?
    Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?”
Job 24:1 (NIV)

There is a classic, oft told, story in my family. My sister (the only girl in the family) and our older brother Tim were in the living room sitting apart from one another. Tim claims that my sister would, without provocation, scream, “MOM! TIM IS HITTING ME!” Mom would rush to the living room to reprimand and punish Tim while Jody gloated with satisfaction at getting him in trouble.

Welcome, children, to a lesson in injustice.

One of the many problems in this fallen world is that of injustice. One does not have to look far to find injustice. We have a neighbor at the lake who repeatedly treads on the rights and property of others. One of my neighbors has been repeatedly unsuccessful at getting the city, county, or lake officials to do anything about it. “I’ve given up,” he commented to me. “Nobody cares.”

Of course, this is a relatively small dispute among neighbors about property. Look at the headlines and you can find all sorts of larger scale issues. There are rule makers (on both sides of the aisle) who make rules they break themselves. There are double standards (on both sides of the aisle) in which political enemies are prosecuted while political friends get away with wrongdoing. Law enforcement sometimes look the other way and compounding a victim’s suffering. Law enforcements sometimes show up with a SWAT team to arrest a non-violent individual for political reasons.

Life is filled with injustice.

Today’s chapter completes the first of Job’s discourses in the third round of conversation with this three friends. Job, who feels that he is suffering unjustly at the hands of God, begins by complaining that you can’t make a court appointment with the Almighty. It would be nice, he reasons, if one could see the wicked get their just desserts. Injustice happens all around, and Job bemoans the fact that God appears to be silent and unconcerned. In the end, both the wicked who get away with it and the righteous who suffer end up in the grave. I couldn’t help but hear echoes of the Sage of Ecclesiastes in Job’s complaint:

And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
    in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

In the quiet this morning I found myself recounting the many personal examples of injustice I have experienced along my life journey. I’m grateful that I have not been victimized by injustice on a large scale. Still, I do share Job’s wish. It would be nice if human justice was more just. It would be nice to see divine justice on an earthly level.
As a follower of Jesus, I’m mindful that Jesus spoke often of the Day of Judgment when justice will be doled out for eternity. Unlike Job, I don’t believe my desire to see divine justice is in vain. I have faith that what Jesus promised will, indeed, come to fruition. In the meantime, I will encounter injustice in this fallen world just as humans have been experiencing it throughout history. My experience is not the exception, but the rule. I believe this is why the story of Job resonates for everyone who grapples with life’s injustices. Just as I have faith that Jesus is exactly who He said He was, that He rose from the dead and holds the promise of eternity, so I have faith that one day all of earthly wickedness will receive divine justice. In the meantime, I hear Jesus calling me to daily live out the mission given through the prophet Micah: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

I’m also glad to say that my siblings enjoy a loving relationship and have embraced mercy over justice for all of those childhood infractions!

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.