#185 Justice for All

“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.

2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.

4 “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.

6 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death,for I will not acquit the guilty.

8 “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

9 “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt. Exodus 23: 1-9 NIV

It says that God is not a respecter of persons, and therefore the law should be a matter of the truth, fairness, and integrity. We live in an era where the judicial system does not seek truth, but rather than what is just in a matter, they seek solely to win. The stakes are high and tempting, like TV evangelist that manipulate the Word of God to their own gain, so these men handle the law. They study it not to know what's right to do in a matter, but to find those loop holes that will line their pockets. I drive past bill boards everyday and have seen many commercials that tempt the masses with the riches that can be won in a lawsuit. In my country, it is painted out, that pouring a cup of hot coffee on yourself is surer than any lottery ticket. It is the new American dream, born on the backs of all the other consumers who pick up the tab. We think a thing is just if someone supports us in it, and if those who study the law agree with us, then we must be doing the right thing? If it were so simple, but follow the money and you will see the root of their drive, their "love" of the law. 

But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1Timothy 6:9&10

Many have been condemned by the mob, and we should never let popular opinion drive out decision, even if it makes us unpopular. If we settle unjustly, then it is not settled, and God will not acquit the guilty.

learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17