God has called all His children to service; to love and serve Him by serving others. It’s the greatest commandment. God is certainly a God who loves justice. His word cries for justice. The LORD clearly advocated helping the poor and relieving suffering. There’s one caveat: discerning truth regarding our motivations and the reality of who we are serving.
There are streams of religious thought that place an emphasis on social services. It is good for one to recognize unjust economic, political, and social conditions and have a heart bent on bringing forth justice. The key is bringing forth justice within a biblical, or Kingdom justice framework. There is a distinction. As the LORD said, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
RELEVANCE
What is Kingdom justice? God looks for right motivations and right relationships; between us and Him, and one another. He looks for fair and equitable balances and righteousness. He looks at our hearts. He looks for truth and order in His house. He looks at the weightier matters: “justice and mercy and faith” (Matthew 23:23).
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
The issue to address is the lens of our theology and service: is our perspective centered around God or man? It may seem to be a minor distinction, but there is a distinction. On the one hand Jesus said “inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). Clearly, one way of serving God is serving man. But is serving man always serving God? We have to discern who is asking, and why.
Jesus knew who He served. He served sinners; but those who were grateful and those who expressed gratefulness by worshiping God. He also knew who not to serve. He knew the source of temptation and responded accordingly. “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Matthew 4:10).
REFLECT AND RELATE
God looks for soft, honest hearts. He looks for right balances. As we seek to serve Him we should look inward at our hearts; then outward at who we are serving. The acid test is always: who will be glorified?
REFERENCES
Matthew 23:1-38