Justice Not Quiet
My wife and I were watching an old Bill Cosby routine the other night. The great comedian told a story about his three year old daughter who kept taking things from her older siblings. When the older siblings took them back, the child would scream, "Mine! Mine! Mine!" Cosby describes how that shriek would penetrate his spinal cord and work its way up to his brain, causing him great personal discomfort. He would go find the three year old and the older child. But instead of telling the three year old to stop taking things that don't belong to her, he would tell the older child to just let the three year old have whatever she wanted. Cosby then explains his actions by saying, "Parents are not interested in justice. They want quiet."
In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells a parable about a widow who was being treated unjustly. In the city where she lived there was a judge who didn't fear God and had no respect for people. The widow kept coming to the judge and asking for justice. At first the judge did nothing because he didn't care about the widow or her problem. But finally the judge said to himself, "I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming." The judge was not interested in justice. He wanted quiet.
Yet the parable doesn't end there. Jesus goes on to say, "Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them." You see, our God is more concerned with justice for his children than he is for his own peace and quiet. You won't bother God by asking him to intervene in an unjust situation in your life. So don't be discouraged if you are praying for justice and don't receive an answer right away. God cares and God wants to bring justice to your situation. Keep praying. Keep asking. In God's timing, he will bring justice because "the Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love" (Psalm 33:5).