Justice

A free country cannot survive without faith. Freedom requires every man to govern himself. If we are to be civilized, we must control ourselves as individuals, and not rely on a tyrannical government to police us. Every person, with or without authority, must be accountable to himself, and the only way this happens is through faith in God, for he is the only authority that we must all answer to and from whom we cannot escape. We must choose between freedom with faith or oppression without it.

When we abandon faith, we abandon every incentive to behave righteously, to live not only for ourselves but for others. Regardless of our race, our wealth, our authority in society, we will not behave morally without faith. Most us behave morally when external incentives require us to--physical, emotional, sociological needs demand that we control ourselves. We behave when we act as individuals and when we do not have the anonymity that releases us from these restrictions. When our neighbors see us and when the authorities monitor us, we behave ourselves, but when our neighbors refuse to act righteously and when the authorities do as well, everyone who denies the existence of God will abandon all pretense of morality. Every person who has nothing to lose from a complete upending of the established society will abandon every pretense to self-control. They have no Judge to answer to. What is at stake for them? Why should they police themselves?

I believe in a moral Judge. I believe in the Judge of all the earth. I believe he will judge righteously. Though I witness injustice, I trust him to set everything right, either here and now, or later in eternity. I do not need to act from fear. I do not lose control over any panic that injustice will ultimately affect me or my loved ones.

The Lord keeps all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

I fear him. Those who refuse to acknowledge his existence have no incentive to exercise self-control. Those who have little to lose, who deny the existence of their eternal soul, will instead live for themselves and also deny the existence of any authority they deem "unjust." At this point, justice becomes a question of who has the greater might, and less one of who is right. The only motivations keeping the unbeliever from absolute anarchy are either the wealth and power he has amassed for himself, or the external force of a heavy handed government. If his power and prestige are gone, if government does not oppress him completely, he has no reason to govern himself for he does not believe that God will judge him.

There will always be evil in this world. There will always be injustice. Men in power will abuse their power. Men and women will always lie, steal, and murder. God did not intend this world to be perfect. The intention of this world is to point us to him and depend on him to redeem us and our lives in the midst of injustice. We hope for perfection in the next world. We trust in him in this world. This can be a wonderful life, not a perfect one, but only if we believe in God.