“You can do right and still have everything turn out wrong. I am not certain where we got the idea that was not so, given that the one we follow and call God did do everything right and ended up treated with gross injustice.”
—Diane Langberg, PhD
One of the biggest mistakes is expecting the world will be cause-and-then-effect, i.e., “I do good and good results will follow the good actions I do.” Yet, as Langberg points out, we do expect some return on our moral investments.
Jesus plainly set out the terms of life in the gospels—expect to be persecuted for doing the good things you do. Why? Goodness threatens people who are bent on doing evil. And systems in this world revolve around power, and power has very little to do with justice.
The most obvious evidence of this phenomenon is the crucified Christ, a masterstroke of God, but the most poignant cosmic injustice possible.
If you grow to accept that you won’t always be recognised for the good you do, and in fact, the world will seldom recognise you, then you’re set up to build for the Kingdom without compromise.
But the moment we shake our fist at the world—or God for that matter—in those times when we’re incredulously livid, we lose our insight, and everything the Kingdom of God could avail to us. We lose access to the very power that could open the door to some other form of Kingdom justice—one that the world’s systems cannot comprehend.
The only way we can sustain ourselves is by NOT looking for justice, but by expecting off-the-wall injustices to consume us. This is neither right nor easy, but it is realistic.
The way we sustain ourselves in this ministry and in this life is by relinquishing our demand that life be fair. Life and the world have never been fair, but take heart, as Jesus said, HE has overcome the world.
Expect life and the world to be unfair, and suddenly we’re equipped to persevere.
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