“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The Bible is clear that God loves justice and He hates wrongdoing (Isaiah 61:8). Unfortunately, justice is not something that just happens. Because of our sinful natures, we naturally skew toward injustice and wrongdoing rather than justice and righteousness. At best, most of us just avoid making matters worse, or do we? It takes being proactive to bring about justice.

The concept of justice implies more than one party (and I’m not talking politics). Just as we can’t exercise justice in a vacuum, we can’t live in harmony with others without engaging and interacting with each other in healthy ways. (Like notes on a scale, without interaction and connection there is no harmony, just independent melodies.) If we are not engaging and interacting, then we are co-existing, but falling short of harmony.

The passage above advises us twice to speak up. That means to take action, to be bold, to advocate. I see that quality in heaps in our staff. That is the work of a Rescue Mission, and you do it so well.

This passage also tells us to judge fairly. Judging implies that we make decisions on behalf of others. We do this all the time, unconsciously as well as consciously. In all our dealings with others we are coming to conclusions about them that determine how and what we say and do. We are instructed to do this fairly. We must not jump to conclusions or be hasty in our decisions, although we should be aware when time is truly of the essence. To be fair, we must listen well, we must assume good intentions in the other person, and we must always make an effort to educate ourselves about the entire situation. To be fair, we must have all the facts possible about the individual and about the culture and environment.

I applaud the work that you do, and I want to encourage you to continue because God demands it. Our God is a God of justice as well as a God of mercy, and nowhere do these two traits merge more than in our interactions with the poor and needy. When Jesus returns and sits on this throne to separate the sheep (his followers) from the goats (those who are not followers), he places his sheep on the right, bound for heaven and the goats on the left, bound for hell). This passage in which Jesus is executing judgment indicates that the mercy we show toward others determines the mercy he will show toward us. (Read Matthew 25:31-46.)

We should not infer from this that it is our works of mercy and justice that will save us. The Scriptures are very clear that it is only by the grace of God that we are saved. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Works of mercy and justice will not save us, but through them we can glorify God, which should be the chief goal of every part of our lives. “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5-6).

Can you just imagine how beautiful the harmonies are that are raised to God when we live in harmony with one another?

In Christ,

Judy