Justice and Mercy: Understanding God’s Balance in Our Choices

When mercy meets consequence, transformation begins.

“The Lord preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.” (Psalm 145:20)

In many cultures, our understanding of justice often resembles a set of weighing scales. The evidence is weighed up from both sides to decide a fair and just decision.

The intriguing aspect of our human concept is that our versions of justice often encompass a mixture of opposing elements and underlying emotions.

Every choice has a consequence!

From a faith perspective, the balancing scales imagery blurs the process into a reformed and misaligned idea mixed in with some grace that suggests that if someone's good deeds outweigh their bad ones, they “pass the test.”

Laws Establish Standards

Justice and mercy coexist on the same scale!

We recognise that laws govern and outline the boundaries of right and wrong, guiding how court cases are examined and determining how consequences are applied. Yet, many people read verses about God’s judgment of the wicked and perceive them as unfair.

Justice must involve moral order and fairness while simultaneously upholding mercy, compassion, and love; otherwise, it isn't justice.

Justice and mercy coexist on the same scale.

Inactions have Consequences

Jesus used a parable to illustrate judgment and justice with the separation of sheep and goats based on their choices and actions. The most intriguing aspect is the judgment, which focuses on our actions and inactions towards the poor and needy.

“For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; I was naked and you did not clothe Me; I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me” (Matthew 25:42-43).

The wicked are identified as those who fail to live out their faith through genuine acts of love, compassion, and care. Belief, doctrines, and church attendance are not the measuring stick. The justice scale is the way we treat those around us. This reflects how we treat our King.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:40).

Compassion is love in action.

God’s sovereignty extends over all. His faithfulness is available, but there is a boundary where He does not rescue those who do not recognise or respect His leadership.

The destruction of the wicked in Psalm 145 is a consequence of failing to live by the two greatest commandments—loving God and loving others.

The inaction has a consequence as much as the action!

Facing the Facts

If you don't like this verse because there are consequences for choices, then it exposes your resistance to basic laws or cause and effect. Why do we want the mercy without the commitment, which devalues its power and discredits its cost?

Divine justice teaches us accountability, and mercy gives us a second chance.

Our love for God is evident in the way we love and treat one another. That is an unchangeable boundary line existing in our human relationships as well as our eternal one.

God's preservation is centred on love. He won't forcefully require us to love him or those around us. If we are not choosing Him during this life, we aren't obligated to spend eternity together. He doesn't keep those who don't want him. That isn't love. He will not coerce you now or forever!

Love has freedom, but the choices tip the scales.

🌿Where have you seen God’s justice and mercy at work in your own life?

🌸 How does understanding that demonstrating mercy as compassion in action affect or challenge your concepts of justice?

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