Someone said to me recently, “How come a poor, starving man steals mangoes from his neighbor’s garden, and he gets a three-year jail sentence, but a corrupt politician plunders the public treasury, and he is elected a senator? Why does God allow such injustice?” I had no answer to this question.
Such a question, natural as it may be, gives me the impression that we are slowly losing our trust in God’s good judgment because of the many injustices we experience. This is very dangerous because once we begin to doubt God’s good judgment, we lose the motivation to do good, and we give in to the temptation to do evil. We begin to think that it is useless to do good when others are doing evil and seem to be profiting from it without any consequence. We easily follow the bad examples of others and abandon the good we ought to do when we doubt God’s good judgment for any reason.
The Israelites in the time of Prophet Malachi believed that it was useless to remain faithful in serving God and keeping His commandments because evildoers in their midst were thriving without any punishment from God. Why strive to be loyal to Him when the evildoers are flaunting and celebrating their infidelity without any consequence? But the prophet’s message is clear: persevere in fidelity to God because His good judgment will surely prevail at the end of time.
The proud and obstinate will be completely destroyed by the fire of divine justice; “All the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch.” The same fire of justice will bring healing and consolation to those who remained faithful to God in the midst of injustice and evil, as the prophet acknowledges, “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays” (Mal. 3:19-20). Our evil deeds can never go unpunished by God, just as our good deeds will always be rewarded.
Thus, we must always trust in this judgment, for we will not seriously prepare for our final judgment if we lose our trust in God’s good judgment in this life. In this life, we can deceive ourselves and others, but we cannot deceive God on the day of judgment, when we will receive our just rewards for our deeds and omissions. Jesus assures us of this certainty about His judgment, saying, “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay each one for what he has done” (Rev. 22:12-13).
When Jesus is asked about the times and signs of the coming destruction of the temple and present reality, He invites us to prepare for our own judgment, trusting in God’s good judgment. We do this in three ways:
1. We must not be deceived
He replied, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them.” There will be false messiahs who will destroy our peace by lying to us about the timing of the end of time that God alone knows.
These false messiahs will lie to us, saying that our sins have no consequences and that God accepts them. They will tell us that we will escape the temporal and eternal consequences of our sins. They will present a Christianity without the cross or suffering. They will advocate a self-indulgent Christianity that avoids all forms of sacrifice. They will highlight the mercy of God and try to make us ignore divine justice.
If we have trust in God’s good judgment, we will hold on to the fullness of faith that we possess and will not buy into the many lies of the false Christs.
2. We must not give in to fear
Jesus said, “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for such things must happen first…There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place.”
We are not to give in to these fears because we belong to the One who is in control of the entire universe. He assures us of His undying love and protection for us always, promising, “Not a hair on your head will be destroyed.” We must be completely trusting in His good judgment if we are going to overcome our fears.
3. We must never give up
Jesus adds, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” We are to persevere in the face of numerous injustices, even when “They will seize and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and to prisons…You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name.” We cannot persevere in our Christian faith and moral life in the face of injustices if we do not have trust in God’s good judgment.
Jesus came into this world to make us God’s beloved children and to prepare us for our final judgement before the face of His Father. He did not come into this world to prevent us from experiencing injustice but to strengthen us to be faithful to God in the midst of injustices of every kind. He gives us His Spirit of wisdom for us to share in His own faithful witness to the Father: “I myself will give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute” (Lk. 21:5-19).
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we live in an unjust world. There will always be acts of injustice that we cannot explain. Why are Christians being slaughtered in Nigeria, and some in the Church’s hierarchy are calling it a “social conflict?” Why are people silent about the unborn babies being slaughtered by the millions through abortion but passionate about saving the polar bears? Why is there a strict restriction on the Traditional Latin Mass, but a growing proliferation of LGBT “Masses”?
Though we may ask why God allows these and many other forms of injustice, we must not doubt the goodness of His divine judgment. First, we must have firm trust in God’s good judgment, so that we can act appropriately in the face of injustice. By this ordering, we will remember to prepare ourselves for our own particular judgment. We don’t need divine answers to injustice; we do need to be prepared for our own final judgment.
Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered the greatest act of injustice on the cross. The sinless One, “who did all things well,” was crucified by the same sinners He came to save (Mk. 7:37). Talk about injustice! But the Father has used this injustice as a means to our salvation and ongoing sanctification. This is why we must not be deceived about what we believe, never give in to fear about what may happen to us, or give up in our witness to Jesus.
This same Jesus comes to us in each Eucharist to prepare us for the divine judgment that will surely come. He will prepare us for this judgment; we only need to remain trusting in Him.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash
