Living in a Law and Order world

Cue narration:

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

Then comes THE sound.

chung-chung.

I geeked out a little just typing that.

For over 35 years, that sound has been synonymous with justice and with wrongs being righted. It is a sound that resonates deeply within me. It’s the sound that marks the beginning of every episode of Law & Order.

I'm a Law & Order kind of guy. Oh, I've watched all the different versions of the shows: the classic L&O, the uncomfortable SVU, the masterful Criminal Intent. I've seen them all.

The beauty of the show is that there is always a clear black and white, wrong and right. Bad guys don't win. In the end, they wind up face down on the pavement thanks to Benson and Stabler, Logan and Brisco, or Goren and Eames.

 Thanks to the skillful arguments of a Ben Stone or Jack McCoy, the guilty pay and head behind bars.

Justice always prevails...

Unless it doesn't.

I always hate the episodes where the guilty get off. It just doesn't seem right. How can they get off on a technicality? Or the jury declares not guilty even though it is obvious the person did it!

It simply isn't fair.

My problem is I'm a Law & Order kind of guy in real life, too. I'm a rule follower. I believe in the obvious right and wrong. When I was a kid, when my family went on vacation, I would stand outside the pool and read every rule posted before ever entering the water. That's just how I'm wired. I expect people to do what is right. And when they don't, I want justice. When things go wrong, I want them to be made right.

Sometimes though, life isn't fair.

Sometimes wrongs are not righted.

Sometimes people aren't held accountable.

Sometimes people get away with things on a technicality or because they’ve fooled those around them.

So, what do you do when life is unfair? How do you respond when the innocent get hurt and the guilty walk away untouched? What do you do when people unfairly attack you? Or when someone spreads falsehoods about you? What about when people mistreat your family and kids? How do you deal with daggers that come in the hands of "friends" or arrows that fly from unknown assailants? 

In my Law & Order world, I need to be reminded continually that I am not in control; God is. 

I don’t have the ability to bring about justice. He does. 

 I cannot make things ultimately right. He will.

So, in the meantime, until the Lord intervenes one day, rather than focusing on what others have done, I must examine what I do. As my dad once told me, "You can't control what others do; you can only control what you do."

Here are some things we can do until the Lord makes all things right one day.

1.  Love those who hurt you. Ok. That may not be the most popular idea in the world, or the easiest. But it is the best. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands us to love our enemies. We are to love those who are hostile to us or stand in opposition to us. We all have that kind of person in our lives. Rather than seeking vengeance or harm for his or her life, seek what is best for that person. Love them like you love yourself. It may not change them at all, but it will begin to change you. You are not answerable for them, but you are answerable for yourself.
2. Pray for them. In that same passage, Jesus tells us to pray for those who are against us. And not the "Lord, please strike them down with the burning fury of a thousand suns" kind of prayer. Pray for their heart. Pray for their well being. Pray that their eyes will be opened to the hurt they caused. Pray for healing and blessing in their lives. Again, praying may not change them, but it certainly will change us.
3. Forgive them. Forgiveness is not based on their repentance but on our obedience. We forgive because we have been forgiven for far more egregious things in our own lives. Matthew 18 reminds us that since we have been forgiven much, we must forgive much. How often should we forgive them? Well, Peter, in a moment of pride, offered to forgive his brother seven times. I think that exceeds what most of us are willing to offer someone who hurts us multiple times. We applaud Peter. Yet, Jesus wasn't satisfied with that number. Not enough. Instead, He says that we are to forgive an infinite number of times. We want to be forgiven that much and He has set an incredible example in His dealings with our offenses. Echo the words of Jesus to those who hurt us, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing."
4. Hope in the Lord. There is some good news. One day, all things will be made right. In His plan and on His timetable, all wrongs will be righted. Funny thing is though, when that day comes, I don't think we will be really all that concerned. In fact, in eternity, the injustices we experience here and now will seem so insignificant. The hope of what is to come for us as followers of Jesus is so grand, these temporary trials and distresses of today fade in comparison. Peter reminds us of this in 1 Peter 1:3-9. The promise of our salvation, our inheritance that is ahead, our living hope, all allow us to endure the personal injustices of today. We can either chose to focus on the wrongs we’ve experienced today or on the wonder and awesomeness of what we will experience ahead. One will leave you miserable – one will leave you encouraged.

I'll try to leave the Law & Order to the TV.  I'll trust the Lord to handle the mess in my life and the lives of those around me.  As He works on me, I'll work on living out my faith in how I treat those who hurt me.  Love, pray, forgive, and hope. Come to think of it, I think I'd like those who I've hurt (unintentionally or otherwise) to do the same for me.

cue narration:

In this life there is One who ultimately is the justice system, He is the one who knows all things and will set all things right in the end. Until then, He uses His people as instruments of grace to love, forgive, and pray for their offenders, looking to the hope of what is to come.  This is His story.

chung-chung.