Justice

Do you ever feel like you’ve been unjustly treated? Perhaps, you’ve been a victim of other people’s poor choices or circumstances that you had little or no control over. Life sometimes seems very unfair.

As leaders, we’re particularly prone to experiencing unfair treatment. Someone gets the credit for work you did. A group covertly lobbies for your ouster from a project or even your position. You work really hard on something only to have your team move in a different direction. Personal slights, undermining, end runs where someone goes around you to get what they want, both subtle and overt character assassinations, lack of respect, mutinies, insubordination, and the nasty list of injustices goes on.   

In previous blogs, we saw the importance of worshipping God as sovereign, loving, wise, and good. When we worship God as sovereign in the midst of injustice, we acknowledge that He is still on His throne, working out His ultimate plans despite people’s best attempts to thwart them. When we revere God as a God who loves, we can find our comfort and solace in His loving arms. We can allow His love to transform our hearts and the way we view the perpetrators of the injustice. When we worship God as wise, we can imagine with hope that God’s wise ways transcend the immediate. His wisdom has an eternal outlook. God is also good. He can bring good even out of the bad stuff. Our God is a redeeming God – One who delights in taking what people intend for evil and turning it into something good, as we see in the story of Joseph in Genesis.

Deeply adoring God in these ways helps us to face injustice in a helpful, God-honoring way. Yet, we also know from Scripture that God is just. Isaiah 30:18-19 says, “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.”

“As a leader, the greatest gift you give people is who you are becoming in Christ. People follow you for who you are more than what you do.” 
Dallas Willard

I am learning that others will often follow me because they see something inside of me that they appreciate. Wayne Cordeiro has said, "You teach what you know, but you reproduce what you are." 

As Christian leaders, we want to reproduce qualities that reflect God. In Ephesians 5:1-2, Paul tells us how we can bear that kind of fruit: "Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." 

Following God's exemplary character helps us to grow in godliness and reproduce those character qualities in others. Yet, what does it mean to follow God’s example?

It means to love others because God is love. Jesus' willingness to die on the cross speaks of his love for the Father and us, as well. Following in Jesus' footsteps involves a moment-by-moment lifestyle of sacrificial love.

It means to be holy even as God is holy. Today, the word "integrity" catches something of what it means to be holy. As Christ followers, we strive to be beyond reproach―to live consistently according to the high standards outlined in Scripture.

God's example of justice sets a standard for us to act justly and to love mercy. As we pattern our lives after God's justice, we will treat others more fairly. We will seek to help the oppressed and change systems of oppression. 

God's wisdom inspires us to seek wisdom; to pursue it at all costs. How can we make the best decisions as leaders without God's wisdom? In Proverbs, we learn that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. As we submit ourselves to the Lord, He will help us make wise choices―something that affects every aspect of our lives.

Following God's example also means being humble. Jesus set an example of humility when he washed his disciples' feet. This was a task well beneath Jesus, a rabbi and teacher in Israel. Yet, his example calls us to serve others humbly regardless of our position and status. 

Hannah knew what it was like to have someone hassle her (1 Samuel 1:1-8). The source of the ridicule was her husband’s other wife, Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none, so Penninah bugged her about it. In fact, whenever they went up to the house of the Lord, Hannah’s rival provoked her until she wept and would not eat. We know that Hannah’s husband, Elkanah, loved Hannah. Yet, I wonder why he didn’t step in and confront Penninah’s inappropriate behavior (Elkanah’s inaction is a good reminder that we need to support those who are being treated unfairly and to even attempt to make the situation better).  Perhaps, you are in a work or school situation where someone is provoking you. Hannah ultimately took the matter to God in prayer and God responded. Obviously, we may need to take other steps, but prayer is always the best place to start and proceed.