18 You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ~ Deuteronomy 16:18-20
15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. ~ Proverbs 21:15
I recently had a very short conversation with the daughter of someone who had gotten into a car accident. Thankfully, there was no serious damage to her vehicle and no injury to her. We were all talking about how the man who hit her car from behind was so scared when the police showed up. They were driving without a license, as well as having entered the country illegally. Her daughter felt that he shouldn’t have any punishment at all, that it’s just a car, and her mom is fine, there’s no need for him to be arrested or charges pressed. I can’t lie, this genuinely annoyed me.
Now, don’t get me wrong. This lady, the daughter, is probably the nicest person I’ve ever met. She’s a genuinely nice person. She’s not someone who comes across as disingenuous or fake, but just a genuinely nice person. Here’s my issue. When we remove consequences from actions, we invite anarchy. We invite chaos into our society. The lack of laws and the lack of enforcement of laws have always led to more problems than good. Just look at the past couple of years. Stores have been looted over and over again. Businesses have shut down because of theft issues that keep happening due to a lack of enforcement of the law.
Yes, we’re thankful that her mother wasn’t harmed and that her car wasn’t too damaged (and was covered by insurance). All of those things are true. But what else is true is that the law was broken, and repercussions are necessary. Someone could have been killed, but by the grace of God, no one was harmed. Enforcing the law doesn’t mean that we don’t forgive them. That doesn’t mean that we don’t love them. That means that we are holding people accountable for their actions, which is the only thing that keeps a society safe. The laws of the land have to be enforced.
We as Christians aren’t to just overlook each and every person’s actions. That’s not how the LORD works, nor His Church. The LORD never just overlooks sin. That was why Christ came, died, and rose again. He cancelled our debt and washed us clean by His blood. He was pierced for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. Yes, as Christians, we are to turn the other cheek, but we aren’t to ignore laws. We don’t seek personal revenge but rely on the justice system of the land. Without justice, a nation is lost.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and See The Need For Justice.