Why is justice so important to people? Why are humans beings so rankled when an injustice is perpetrated? I believe it has something to do with our being made in the image of God. If being just is “based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair,” as one definition would have it, then without equivocation we can declare that God is just, for he is “a faithful God who does no wrong” (Deuteronomy 32:4, NIV). He his all-righteous. Indeed, he defines what it means to be righteous and just. As we are made in his image, we have been created with a desire for righteousness and justice. The problem we have is that our capacity for determining what is just has been greatly vitiated by our rejection of the One who is just. As a consequence, our moral compass points more south than north.
That being said, though we may not always get what true social justice is, God does. He speaks of it often in the word he has given to us. As we look into this subject more, I think we will find that not all of the clamor is justified — but some of it is. Sin has caused serious injustices from the moment it entered into God’s good creation. Cain’s murder of Abel was just such a manifestation. God said that Abel had done that which was right; for him to be slain by his brother on account of righteousness was a deep injustice. We get that.
Are similar injustices being perpetrated today? Indeed, there are, and God hates them as much as he hated Cain’s act of cruelty. And because God cares whether or not human beings are just we, his redeemed children, should also care. Not only have we been created in his image, we are being transformed into his image (2 Corinthinas 3:18). What he hates, we should hate. What he desires, we should desire.
You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
Psalms 89:13-14
