I have been thinking about justice and injustice here in Malawi. Everyday, I walk into the villages where I see pot-bellied kids who are malnourished, ill-clothed, and "deprived" of Western conveniences. How can such inequality exist? Can God really be said to justly rule over all?
Such questions easily slip into one's mind here.
When I compare my childhood and the typical village childhood, I am overwhelmed. When I begin to think my sense of justice is better than the Lord Almighty's sense of justice though, He asks me "Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons? Do you have an arm like God's? Or can your voice thunder like His? Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?"
The answer to all these questions is No.
I am a flawed judge. My sense of judgment is limited by my finite mind and my finite life. God does not have such limitations. God is perfect and holy in all of His ways. If He was unjust, then He would cease to be holy. And surely, if anything in the world is certain, God is holy.
Can I judge anything as fairly and justly as God can judge? By no means! But, this does not relegate me to apathy and callousness. Rather, the poverty and brokenness of Mgwayi village moves me and fills me with compassion, not bitterness. Shall I accept only good from God and not trouble? By no means! Shall I reject what God has given me in America due to apparent "injustice"? By no means! But rather, I should be bring praise to my glorious Benefactor and surrender my gifts to Him.
One thing that strikes me here is the almost universal sense that everything in life acts as an opportunity to praise God. Malawians see straight to the heart, to the core, to the root of all things, and they praise the Father for everything. It is even reflected in the naming of children. I have met people named Blessings, Lifton (Lift on High), Lovemore, Grace, Joy, Faith, Peace, Kindness, and Charity. Even the guard dog of our compound is named Mpatso which means Gift in Chichewa. I visit a village family twice a week for two hours at a time. There are three children: Shakira, Christina, and Yami. Yami is the only boy of the family and he is 12. Yami, in a prayer, just amazed me at how thankful and blessed by God he felt, even though he lives in a small one room mud and brick hut in a village.
Malawians seem to get it. They understand, even from an early age, that God is worthy of praise. Through the hard roads as well as the easy roads, following God is the right path. All His routes are good, but not "good" as we usually see it. When we think "good", we think in a limited, immediate sense. We think "good" means wealth, fame, possessions, a reputation, etc. This is a serious error because God uses "good" in an ultimate sense. At the end of all things, God is good. He does not cease to be good in the middle of all things, but we cannot usually see that pure, ultimate goodness from the bottom of the valley of despair.
So, from here, in what may look like the bottom of the valley of despair to some, much to my surprise, I have found great joy in a people who have many reasons to feel disheartened (by American standards). Malawians see God as just and worthy of praise but somehow Americans see God as unjust and cruel. How can that be? One would think Malawians would resent God for His injustice, and Americans would overwhelmingly praise God for His gifts. But for some reason, this is not so. And it perplexes me. And it overwhelms me. And humbles me. And leads me to praise my gracious and perfectly just Father. Let us praise Him for His amazing work! Let us kneel beneath His majesty and be comforted!
Despite life's "inadequacies", He alone is adequate.
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