FROM EXPERIENCE = LIVING AND COPING WITH INJUSTICE AND HURT (FIRST PART) – GUIDELINES – (THE RETRIBUTION OF GOD – PART 6 IN THE SERIES)
INTRODUCTION FOR SOME MEASURES TO LIVE WITH INJUSTICE
We have looked at the subject of retribution from several perspectives. We considered a number of examples and traced how the retribution of God was implemented. We looked at the certainty of it and finished with the Christian’s approach to it. Underlying much of the suffering of Christian experience is injustice, a word which encompasses a broad set of practices but I confine it to the unfair, unjustified, deliberate action by another party against the child of God or people of God.
This world is very unfair, not just to Christians but to non-Christians who wish to maintain some form of decency in morality. Our age is hardening so fast against any form of goodness, and this is seen in the WOKE decisions being made, the legislating of gross immorality such as so called “homosexual marriage” that flies in the face of the first marriage instituted by God and confirmed by the Lord Himself – {{Matthew 19:4-6 He answered and said, “Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and the two shall become ONE FLESH?’ Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”}}
Let me cite one recent example of this unfairness. In the current (October 2023) Islamic protests in Sydney, the large hateful, satanic gathering of Hamas supporters were screaming, “Gas the Jews. Gas the Jews,” and other evil obscenities I can not repeat. The police just stood there and did nothing; the New South Wales Government did not want to know about it. However one man in the area was arrested for holding the flag of Israel. Is this an isolated incident? No it is not. We are in the last days of the Church age before the Rapture and the Lord said, {{2Timothy 3:1-2 “Realise this, that in the last days DIFFICULT TIMES WILL COME, for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, etc.”}} The expression means “days of hardship.”
Should a Christian expect true justice? No. We can no longer expect it in a world that is fast embracing evil and has turned its back on God. We must be sensible and realise we are living in chaotic times when all the traditional moral values are being shredded. The bible is our firm foundation and we must stand on it no matter what the prevailing ethos might be. In the State of Victoria in Australia you can not use the term “boys and girls” in school and a pregnant woman has to be called “a birthing parent”. I know these abnormalities are not confined to Australia. They are alive and well also in the USA and a lot of Europe. Humanity is fast tracking towards the precipice because it has abandoned God and according to Romans 1, it is said three times, “God gave them over,” meaning God said, “Go your own way,” and that way is the way of darkness and stupidity, of humanism and depravity.
In this last section I would like to propose some practical ways a Christian can handle the difficult matter of injustice.
Injustice is a major source of frustration and the desire for justification, if not properly controlled, can lead to bitterness, negativity, and self-revenge. This world is full of injustices and is it any wonder? Through movies, books, magazines, time-wasting soapies on television and contemporary music, all of which have degenerated drastically in the last two generations, (and social media in recent times), there is an insidious creeping disease. The emphasis is now so strongly on one’s personal rights at the expense of all others’ rights, and the humanism behind it, whether consciously or unconsciously, has fashioned our generation’s thinking and permeated an unchristian set of values right through society. This includes revenge, hate, and infidelity and lying.
Avenging oneself or “doing the other in before he does you in,” is what motivates so many. “Do others before they do you,” is the way one operator once described it to me. The blatant selfishness on the roads especially from the “twenties drivers” is all part of the same cancer. Retribution (worldly style) is often practised by the average citizen of the world and pursued earnestly when there is little chance of being caught. I often wonder if that is the norm for politics and especially the Public Service in Australia (quite corrupt) in its operations and internal promotion. (Civil servants in Britain. Not sure of the US term for that). That though is not the way for the Christian. Untrue, falsify, revenge, distort, slander, injustice – these are not the ways for Christians.
Many Christians have had to face the uncertainty and cruelty of injustice and many testimonies are the result. Others have examined the matter with the Christian perspective in view. I want to share one of those examinations called “The Caring Touch,” taken from a posting on the Internet from Heartlight Magazine in 1997, and which deals with injustice.
[[[ THE CARING TOUCH - Dealing with Injustice, by Randy Becton
If you read the papers like I do, spoiled professional athletes rake in millions of dollars, lawyers are gaining wealth and fame from rich peoples' trials, while Christians are faithfully serving the Lord quietly and are plagued by financial crises and personal problems. Do you ever get frustrated over life's unfairness?
What do we do with the injustices of life? A lot of people are asking that very question. {{Psalm 73:3-4 says, “for I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked for there are no pains in their death and their body is fat.”}}
{{Psalm 73:12-13 “Behold, these are the wicked, and always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence.”}}
How can we rise above the traps of envy and resentment?
* We can realize that everything we've been given, we've been given by God and we're not worthy of it. We've all sinned and fallen far short of his glory.
* We don't need to judge anyone. There is one Judge and he will judge us all.
* Complaining about our situation keeps us from blessing God for all he has already done for us and given to us.
{{1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”}} ]]]
Yet another has written words of comfort for suffering Christians that I want to add entitled, “SENT BY GOD” and based on Psalm 105:7-22, written by David C. McCasland and reproduced in Our Daily Bread in 1997 by Radio Bible Class.
[[ {{Psalm 105:17 “He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.”}}
If God sent you to do something significant for Him, how would you expect to be treated? Like a dignitary in a motorcade? How would you expect to feel? Important and confident? Secure in knowing exactly where you were headed and what you were to do?
Our first steps along the pathway of serving God may feel like the end of our hopes and dreams. God's beginnings for His servants often bear little resemblance to the endings He has in mind.
The story of Joseph (Genesis chapter 37 to 47) is a great encouragement when God's dealings with us seem impossible to understand. Psalm 105 tells us that God "sent a man before them” - Joseph - who was sold as a slave. {{Psalm 105:18-19 “They afflicted his feet with fetters. He himself was laid in irons until the time that his word came to pass; the word of the LORD tested him.”}}
Being sent by God may begin with losing a job instead of landing one. It could involve the injustice of being penalised when you played fair and refused to compromise. It may hurt as much as Joseph's leg irons in prison.
If God has given you a difficult beginning, ask Him for the strength to see it through. The God who sends will also sustain until you reach the end He has in mind. - David C. McCasland.”]]
Before I continue I want to add a poem of mine that arouse from being in this situation of injustice and hurt.
AGAINST THE CHRISTIAN
Tread the depths of sorrow deep;
Burning hurt and fiercest pain;
Suspended o’er a chasm deep;
Taste shredding winds that cut again.
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Glanced-fierce look, eye-narrowed stare
Revealing black thoughts, bitter within.
The sordid state of morality bare;
A heart full cankered by hidden sin.
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Tread down the weak; disparage the poor;
Gain by deceit and flatter the rich;
Splinter the ravished heart; wounding it sore;
Pursuing persecutors who increase the pitch.
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Unreasoned hatred and tongues that murmur,
Are against the Christian set.
But the Saviour holds His own the firmer;
Endured through all the trials He met.
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Don’t talk about rosy pathways
The Christian is supposed to travel along.
Christians step in the sin-world’s maze,
And will suffer from the world, its wrong.
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Crawl for gain; lie for gain; even more -
The heart of man is very dark.
Earthly gain is but transcendent’s flaw
For finite people to leave their mark.
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Christians are not on holidays.
Stand for right, and you receive the wrong.
The setting around you may be ablaze,
But your inner self can sing a song.
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Our time on earth is a fleeting shadow,
Incomparable with eternity.
Ignore the world’s deceitful gusto;
True remain; trust always in certainty.
19 November 1974. Revised June 1989. Last 4 stanzas added 5 January 2022.
As I said this world is full of injustices and they may affect us to a greater or lesser extent. Blatant injustice in a court of law when the innocent are declared guilty is very difficult to accept. Losing your career or livelihood because of a stand you took for honesty is difficult to accept. Being lied about, rejected, slandered, ridiculed or persecuted in other forms, are additional examples of injustice and they are all difficult to accommodate. Without the knowledge from God’s word, including the few scriptures we have already considered, a person has no foundation on which to rest in peace. Those who have been through it know how injustice hurts, and the ones God has allowed to experience it, know only too well the pain and loneliness and ostracism and frustration it brings. This section is for those who are encountering injustice and I hope some of the practical suggestions may help you.
[1]. PRAYER IS YOUR VITAL LINK INTO THE REQUEST ROOM OF YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN
Never forget that so many of the psalms were written from David’s personal experiences, and many were the times he fought against injustices. These psalms are full of prayers. With some of the prayers you will be able to identify yourself in life’s difficulties. Make them your prayer book. When suffering injustice, it is a time to strengthen your prayer life and that then will become a blessing to you. Do not forget that in Ephesians chapter 6, prayer is part of the armoury of God for the saint.
There is a wonderful verse in the letter of James which became alive to me when I discovered the wording in the expanded translation of the New Testament by Kenneth Wuest. {{James 5:13 says, “Is anyone among you suffering misfortune? Let him keep on CONSTANTLY PRAYING.”}} That becomes the first practical step to take. Keep on praying. That is the Lord’s request for you. Prayer will help you learn more of God and it will enable you to grow. Sometimes hurt is so deep that nothing but prayer remains. Then use it. It may be the very last golden line for you.
Here is another mighty verse {{Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION with thanksgiving LET YOUR REQUESTS BE MADE KNOWN TO GOD, and THE PEACE OF GOD which surpasses all comprehension, SHALL GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR MINDS in Christ Jesus.”}} It is when you are in a distressful situation and the injustice you have suffered comes along all the time roaring at you, then the preciousness of this verse becomes yours. Prayer in requests leads to the peace of God for that peace is spread abroad in your lives by the Holy Spirit and that peace will guard your hearts and mind. The heart is the centre of your emotions that are savagely attacked by injustices, and your mind entertains the thoughts that keep revolving around in your head not giving you peace. This is a precious verse.
I think there is something amiss with a lot of us Christians. When tragedy or gross injustice hits us we look all around for people who might be able to help and comfort us, and we often leave the Lord as the last resort when He should have been our first recourse. Run to your Father God, the God of all comfort. When you are battered by circumstances and injustice go to the Psalms and note all the prayer examples left to us by David.
[2]. HOLD TO THE WORD OF GOD; HOLD ON WITH ALL YOUR LIFE
Reading God’s word in times of testing, when injustice is one aspect, must not be neglected. God has impregnated His word with thousands of promises. Lay hold on those promises for your support. They are meant not only for the ones who first were given them, but they are relevant for all of us because the bible is the unchanging word of God. If you feel God is directly speaking to you, then claim those specific promises for your own. The word of God is complete. In it, the Lord has given all you need. I think it is wonderful that the biblical writers wrote from personal experiences through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but in actual fact, they were writing for you as well.
David passed through just so many experiences throughout his lifetime but in all of them he discovered and proved God’s faithfulness and strong arm. Many of those experiences are on eternal record in the Psalms, and Christians have found that there are a multiplicity of promises for every trial and situation that can be faced. Psalm 119 is a study in itself, and a worthwhile exercise is to list from there the values of the word of God. Psalm 119 sets out the whole way of life for you if you adhere to the word of God. Carefully make the Psalms a special retreat, especially when circumstances are difficult. I believe every hurt and frustration we have as Christians can find its parallel in David’s Psalms.
Sometimes when a child is hurt or mistreated he/she will go to a special place of retreat and comfort, sometimes to be alone, and sometimes to escape the trouble. We are the children of God and our Father wants us to have that special retreat where we can draw away from the world and be with just Him. Then He speaks to us through His word. Open your bibles when in pain, or suffering any injustice, and let the word of God speak to you in all its grand eloquence.
The God of Abraham who supported His pilgrim servant is the same God as David’s who sustained him through everything, even when his emotions were torn apart and he was sinking into the mire of despair, and He is the One who will shield you in your need as well. Increase your reading time in the word. Not only will you learn more of God, but you will be helped by it, strengthened and instructed in your trials. Three verses from Psalm 94:17-19 are very instructive. {{“If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. If I should say, “My foot has slipped,” Your loving-kindness, O LORD, will hold me up. WHEN MY ANXIOUS THOUGHTS MULTIPLY WITHIN ME, YOUR CONSOLATIONS DELIGHT MY SOUL.”}}
What did the psalmist do when overcome by anxiety (anxiety is one of the effects of injustice)? He rested in the consolations of the Lord. From where are they obtained? Of course, from the comforting promises of the word of God.
The writer has often taken promises from the psalms for his own, and so many of these meant so much in a period of awful injustice that went for years, but only one will be shared here. {{Psalm 108:12-13 “Oh GIVE US HELP AGAINST THE ADVERSARY, for deliverance by man is in vain. THROUGH GOD WE SHALL DO VALIANTLY; and it is He who will tread down our adversaries.”}}
God is 100% faithful to His word. Rejoice in His precious word. It means everything.
In the next message, we shall look at further ways that will help us in dealing with adversity and injustice and even in depression and despondency.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
