Fire with fire, makes for bigger fires
Injustice has always been something that has gotten me all worked up. There are things going on out there that just don’t make sense to me, they just don’t seem fair. I’ve wrestled with God over so many of these things and even teetered on my faith through certain issues. “Can a just God really exist with all of this injustice in the world?” Sadly I find myself often toiling over even the trivial things in life that are probably not worth a fight. I bite my tongue for a second, but then it just gives me more time to think about it and want to speak out even more. A recent example occurred over parking.
With a definite need to enforce the parking of non-visitors in visitor stalls, the school has established strict parking guidelines. Issuing tickets for anyone parked out of accordance to the parking policies. In my biased opinion there have been situations that were simply unnecessary, but, as my friend said, I guess they have to not do anything or just enforce it across the board. I’ll buy that. So when I see the schools meter maid parking in the visitor stalls that he tickets others for, driving a vehicle without a sticker that he demands of others and leaving his vehicle blocking the service lane for three hours, my mind begins to question. With teeth marks permanently embedded in my tongue I have to unclench and inquire within. So out goes my email.
According to the meter maid’s supervisor, certain privileges are allotted him because of his position. So he is above the law, basically. Day after day I sit at my desk and while I have the privilege of seeing the birds in the trees, the squirrels bouncing from branch to branch and even an occasional deer graze by. Still I am fixated on the meter maid’s vehicle parked in the service lane as he does his business in the office and adorns windshields with tickets from his book. My head shakes and I make a comment to my co-worker. The urge to question him personally wants to be awakened every time, till I read something one day.
Romans 12:17-21 “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. Never take your own revenge beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine I will repay,’ says the Lord. ‘But if your enemy is hungry, feed him and if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in doing so you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
This is not to say that I am calling the meter maid evil, or even the parking policies. Instead I have come to learn that justice is from the Lord. If we are truly saying that we put our trust in God we are saying that we believe that he IS a just God. I look back on my life and imagine what it would be like if every wrong that I had done was done back to me. Oh, how grateful I am for grace, and yet when the tables are turned grace is no longer enough. This means that I don’t make the rules. It means that justice is no longer mine to define. If I am putting my trust in the Lord, I am saying, not my will, but yours Lord. By no means does this mean I will be silent to things that I find unjust, not at all. It just means that I need to seek answers in love and when I have done all I can, I have to let it go. People will park wherever they want to in life. Injustice, or so your perceive it, will happen. Choose your battles wisely. Calculate your efforts and your end goal. Measure your motives and see if you are making a bigger fire in your fight.
When God talks about His wrath I believe it boils down to eternal matters. Can you wrap you mind around the fact that He sent Jesus to wipe away the sins of all who will receive it, truly, in their heart. This means the grace of the Lord is available for, rapist, murders, thieves, hypocrites, meter maids with double standards and even me. That is a tough one to accept for many. That is why it was such a big sacrifice for Jesus to die on the cross. All the “justice” that the above mentioned deserve, was bore upon the shoulders of our Lord and Savior.
So can I let something like a silly parking issue go? I hope so. Do I turn a blind eye to the injustices of this world? I hope not, but instead of adding to the fire I hope I can learn to fight fire with love. -jason
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