One would think the court system would be the ideal institution to dispense justice. Every wronged individual who brings his/her case before the judge expects nothing less. We want the guilty punished and the innocent vindicated. We want lawyers to find the smoking gun that convicts the guilty. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t always play by these rules. Sometimes justice isn’t found in the court room. Occasionally, the guilty get away and the innocent go to jail.
I know a case where a management company took advantage of their tenants. They knew enough about the law to make sure they didn’t do anything illegal, while at the same time refusing to do what was right. When the tenants brought the matter to civil court, the judge dismissed the case without prejudice and said it belonged in a criminal court. Unfortunately, the tenants involved couldn’t afford to retain an attorney, a fact the management company knew all too well. The tenants never received justice and the court system left them more traumatized than before.
Unfairness is everywhere. As parents of individuals with disabilities, we’ve dealt with injustice in one form or another. After awhile, it gets discouraging. Been there, done that. That’s why we need to widen the lens we are looking through and remember these two truths.
- Justice doesn’t happen overnight. Unlike TV dramas, wrongs aren’t resolved in forty-five minutes.
- God dispenses judgement at exactly the right time, based on his infinite wisdom.
So if court systems fail, or we’ve been exploited, or denied services, know that God will never fail us. He will right the wrong.
The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly. – Psalms 103:6