Don’t turn injustice against you into sin against others

In James 5, workers who had finished their job were not paid for the work they had done. In a world where most people lived with little savings and much uncertainty, that could mean drastic consequences. The household might have not been able to buy food or pay their bills. This was a deep injustice that had massive effects on people.

When James addressed Christians suffering this kind of injustice, his basic command to them was to wait. God would judge the situation, and they were not to take matters into their own hands. They were not to make promises they could not keep, but remain faithful and patient in the face of the injustice they were experiencing.

The key principle here is that we should not react to injustice with sin. When we suffer injustice, it is terribly frustrating. We find it easy to get angry. We want to shout at people and to express that anger. Yet even in that situation, we are called to honour God and act as one of his people.

So many arguments start this way, don’t they? One member of the household has a bad day at work, and they come home grumpy and then speak to everyone else in a harsh way, even though they have done nothing to deserve it. Or someone loses their job, and they become an angry, difficult person, treating those around them unfairly because of their frustration. All of us are tempted in this direction.

If your situation is difficult and unjust and frustrating right now, remember this. God is the judge, and Jesus understands the frustration of living in this world even more than you do. God has acted in Jesus to fix the injustice in the world, and one Day all will be put right. God will judge the injustice you feel; you don’t need to do this. What we are called to do is to persevere and stay faithful to Jesus even in our frustration.

You see someone’s character more clearly when they are under pressure. It is easy to be content and kind when all is well in your life. How about when things are really hard? When your family treats you poorly, or your employer is unfair to you? You are still called to honour Jesus. God loves you deeply, whatever your situation is.

Pray to God in your frustration; express how you’re feeling. There is a long history of the prophets and psalmists doing this. Yet be careful not to mistreat others yourself. Those who have treated you unfairly will need to answer to God for their actions; you will need to answer to God for yours.