Musings on Ecclesiastes: Injustice

Hello All,

As you read the news each day, do you boil with anger at the blatant injustice displayed by corrupt authorities and wicked men?

Do you long for justice and equality in the country we live in?

Musings on Ecclesiastes: Injustice

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (17th January 2014)

‘That's not fair!' we often hear the indignant cry

Of the oppressed who see vile, wicked men get by

With their corrupted ways, malicious schemes and crimes

The court of law turns a blind eye time after time

I saw a man of high standing trialed for murder

He killed heartlessly at a higher man's order

With evidences against him, he was set free

One rose to power, the other escaped penalty

'Where is justice?!' Our cry for fairness goes unheard

Our hope for a fair government is just absurd

For power and wealth blind those in authority

The plight of the downtrodden, they refuse to see

Our quest for justice ends at the throne of our LORD

Who will bring judgment on the wicked with his sword

In His Eternal Kingdom, true justice is found

It is a Kingdom where love, peace and joy abound

Points for Reflection:

Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.

(Ecclesiastes 4:1)

·         Injustice is sadly an evident part of the world we live in. Those who have the authority to administer justice, more often than not, misuse their power for selfish gains.

·         There is no doubt a minority of leaders who are fair and just in their reign but they are as rare as hen’s teeth. But even the noblest of all leaders is not infallible for he has shortcomings like you and me. There would have been instances when he did not administer justice perfectly.

·         How do you feel when you see the oppressions of the oppressed by powerful oppressors? Do you feel indignant and angry at leaders who prosper at the expense of their citizens? Are you cynical and unforgiving towards them?

I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

(Ecclesiastes 3:17)

·         The wicked will not go unpunished for God will judge them, if not in this life (which the book of Ecclesiastes refers to as, ‘life under the sun’), then in the life to come. Even though they may have evaded the enforcement of earthly laws for their crimes, they will never escape God’s hand of judgment.

·         How could you learn to trust God even in the face of unfair treatment by corrupt leaders? Pray that God will enable you to cultivate patience and a forgiving spirit even for such undeserving leaders.

·         However, all men, both the good and the wicked will have to give an account to God on judgment day for every single sinful thought, speech or action. The only way anyone can be acquitted from God’s judgment is through faith in Jesus Christ, who died as a substitute for sinners like us.

·         Would you receive this gift of salvation offered to you by Jesus Christ, the perfect and just King? It is only in His Kingdom that you will find true justice.

·         Perfect justice does not reside in life under the sun but it lies secured under the Kingship of the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.