The Search for Justice
Good morning, my name is Alex. I’m one of the pastor’s here. It’s my pleasure this morning to continue our series through the book of Ecclesiastes that we are calling “The Good Life.” Old King Solomon has been describing that so many of the things that we look to for meaning and joy in life like money, power, success, sex, and pleasure are ultimately meaningless without recognizing God in the world. Today, we’ll be mostly in Ecclesiastes 3 as Solomon talks about the idea of Justice.
Many people, both Christians and skeptics alike, look at the world and find themselves asking “Why is everything so screwed up? Why is there so much evil and unfairness?” Scholars call this the problem of evil and it is one of the main reasons that people cite for not believing in God or for falling away in their faith. We wonder how a good God can let all of this injustice happen and apparently go unpunished. And then we jump at the next idea or movement or political party that promises that they will be the one to bring about justice, fairness, and an end to corruption, only to be disappointed when they fail to make much or a difference or even make things worse. And this question is asked to Christians as if the Bible is silent about this topic trying to avoid it and telling us to stifle these questions and desires. But the Bible is full of people wrestling with this desire and confusion including Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3.
Today’s Big Idea is: The solution to the world’s injustice isn’t found in people or politics, but only through God.
Ecclesiastes 3 opened with a poem about time and seasons of life. The poem does not mention God’s role just the fact that life is full of seasons. The rest of the chapter tells how God is involved in this process as the Lord of time. We will look at how this plays out in the area of justice and even politics
16 I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.
Summary of the Problem: Even justice is corrupted by human sin.
Solomon sums up the entire passage with something that we’ve all witnessed and are all bothered by. Even in the places you expect fairness and righteousness, sin and corruption rear their heads all the time. Your mind instantly goes to corrupt courts that show favoritism to certain groups, charitable organizations that steal the money they are supposed to be helping people with, and, sadly, churches that contain and hide abuse of those that come to be part of them.
Solomon even shows us that this goes for all governments as well. So for those of us that may look to politics too often for solutions, take a look at what he says in chapter 5.
8 If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them. 9 The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field. (5:8-9)
We shouldn’t be shocked that even if a party that we voted for happens to be in power at a moment. That sin and corruption will still be present. If there are people involved, there will be sin and wickedness involved. It is a sad reality, but something that should help us keep a better perspective on life if we take it to heart. We’ll expand on that later.
I don’t know about you, but I can deal with evil deeds being done by clearly evil people in the world, it’s when someone who is supposed to be helping people or making a positive difference in the world but turns out to be just another part of the problem that gets me.
It is a universal problem for mankind. Solomon says just a couple chapters over in chapter 7 that 20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. And Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Just like it is a universal problem, it universally discourages people, both Christians and skeptics alike. It is an echo of the fact that we are created in the image of God. Despite our sin, we still recognize that something is not right when we see people being mistreated or good things being corrupted by sin. Just like God calls out for justice, part of us does as well and it balks against the injustice that we see everywhere.
This is why no matter how many charities or government programs exist, or how many good things we do in the world, banking on perfect justice and fairness in the world will always prove to be a discouraging thing to us. That’s why Solomon lumps it in with everything else as a vanity and chasing after the wind.
That’s the summary of the problem, let’s look at the summary of the solution.
17 I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”
Summary of the Solution: God will bring ultimate justice in his time.
Thankfully, injustice and corruption have a season that will come to an end just like death and weeping. That is our hope in life. Those who do evil will not get away with it forever, God is the ultimate judge and as Solomon previously taught, he is the Lord of time.
One of the themes of Ecclesiastes is to find joy in life by recognizing what is our role as humans vs. what is God’s role as Lord. So, when we think of ourselves as the bringers of justice to the world, we only meet with frustration and failure. But when we trust God and his perfect timing, we can understand that all will be made right or beautiful in its time. You are not God, so you don’t have to carry the weight of every injustice in the world.
This is also a great application for us that Solomon has used a few times now in Ecclesiastes. Concept of what the eyes see vs. what we then tell our heart. Our temptation is to let what our eyes see of the world to dictate what we then believe about God. Life seems chaotic and sin is everywhere, surely God either doesn’t care or can’t be in control. This is the story of countless people who have turned away from following God. They get so caught up on what they see around them that they can’t trust in the Word of God or what He has already done for them.
We must let our knowledge of God shape how the events of the world make us feel as opposed to the events of the world lead us to judge God.
18 I said to myself, “This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.” 19 For the fate of the children of Adam and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile. 20 All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust. 21 Who knows if the spirits of the children of Adam go upward and the spirits of animals go downward to the earth?
Harsh Truth: We’re all part of the problem, not just “evildoers.”
Death is the consequence for all of us because of sin. Adam and Eve were created uniquely and tasked to have dominion over the animals and beasts of the field, but instead, in sin, we find that we have no real distinction from the beasts in how we treat each other and the end that we come to.
29 Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes.” 7:29
Gives us a picture into why God allows evil in the world. It reveals that while we call for justice, we too are part of the wickedness that deserves judgment. God doesn’t stop all evil from happening because He wants all people to recognize that they need a savior as well. It is vital that we recognize this about ourselves so that we will call out to God as our Savior. Every person that comes to follow Jesus can should thank Him for his patience in allowing them to see their need for a savior.
Practical Advice: Do what you can and trust God with the rest.
22 I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?
Repeated theme that Solomon uses throughout Ecclesiastes.
Emphasis on his activities and his rewards. We lose joy in life when we shift focus on the activities and lives of others. Comparison robs us of joy or gives us a false pride that we are doing more than someone else. “If only they cared as much as I do or did as much as I do.” We are called to live our own lives as upright as we can with the Lord’s help. And we can be generous with our lives to make a difference for the justice of the world around us.
We also go wrong when we try to put ourselves in the place of God. We think that we would somehow do things differently or better than God if we were in control. But then we fall flat when we realize that the same sin we loath to see in others lives in us too.
Today’s Big Idea is: The solution to the world’s injustice isn’t found in people or politics, but only through God.
The beauty of the Gospel is we know the one man who had all power was never corrupted. Who lived an entire life with all of its temptations and never sinned. Jesus was God in flesh who came not to judge the world but to die for us so that the judgment of God would fall on Him as a perfect sacrifice and be satisfied. He was the man that faced the death that is inevitable for all mankind but rose again on the third day proving to us that in Him even death is just a season for us to endure before eternal life with Him. And He is the one that the book of Revelation tells us will ultimately judge the world for its sins. Those that reject Christ will face the full punishment for the sins they committed against him and other people and those that call on Him as Savior will receive the grace and reward that He earned on their behalf. So, we don’t have to drive ourselves to despair over the injustice of our world, instead we can trust that He will surely make it right in its time.