Signs of the Times magazine
Where's the Justice?
by David Jarness
When enemies attack our homeland, we're tempted to even the score.
No doubt the Bible tells us not to take justice into our own hands
Nor do the stereotypes of violent Muslims and peace-and-justice-loving
The Bible points to the final judgment as the time when earth will see
But over and over again the Bible says that individuals who've come to
trust in God must act in love--even toward their enemies. Paul, for
instance, counceled, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil," and reminded
us that God has said, " 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay' "
(Romans 12:17,19 NIV) In the final judgment all the unrepentant will
receive their due.
because we humans so often err. For instance, many of those out to
avenge the attacks on New York and Washington failed to recognize
the difference between Muslims, on the one hand, and Sikhs, Hindus,
and Buddhists, on the other. Of course, they had no
business attacking innocent Muslims anyway.
Christians stand up. Ironically, the very week of the attacks, the major
U.S. newsmagazines featured photos of terrified little Catholic schoolgirls
who were the targets of bomb-throwing Protestants in Northern Ireland.
Of course, the I.R.A. has also functioned as a bona fide terrorist
organization in that dispute. And from the bloody Crusades of the Middle
Ages through Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo of more recent memory,
supposed followers of Christ have directed violence, terrorism, and
genocide at Muslims.
undiluted justice. But God has agencies--fallible as they are--whose
function it is to work toward justice even now. Immediately after the
passage in which Paul counseled us not to seek revenge individually,
he pointed to human governments as divinely appointed police agents:
"He [governmental authority] does not bear the sword for nothing.
He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the
wrongdoer" (Romans 13:4 NIV). We must conclude, then, that it is
appropriate for the American government--or any government--to take
the necessary steps to protect its citizens from the kind of aggression
that New York and Washington experienced.
