The Fourth Wall - Day 6

Whatever is right (Just)

Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Another word for “right” that is used often in translations is “whatever is Just.” So maybe we need to look into what it means to be Just.

Justice has become a word that people are wary of, often because it is connected to the phrase “social justice.” We think that this is some liberal phrase that means we have to be some sort of “woke” to believe in. However, the concept of justice is seen all over the Old Testament. Here is an assignment: read any of the 12 minor prophets and see what they say about bringing justice into the experience of Israel.

I know, I am using triggering words here for some of you. But I want you to understand the concept of justice comes from long before any of the culture wars that we see happening today. The culture wars in Israel surrounded the ideas of whether or not we were going to make sure there was equity for those who had no voice. It hasn’t really changed that much.

Now, you may think that I am being political, and of course, the ways we get to justice won’t be agreed upon by people of differing political views. But as Christians, to not believe in Justice is to not believe in the Missio Dei, or the mission of God that Jesus exposed us to in Luke Chapter 4: 16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
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“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
   that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
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    and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.[a]”
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
I quote this often because it is why Jesus came into the world; it was his mission, and he fulfilled it. And justice plays a major role in this mission.

So we need to be involved in ministries that lead toward justice, and do so by using mercy and compassion to reach those ends.

I can’t get to the other two concepts; loveliness and admirable. So those will have to wait for another time, here are a few questions you might ask yourself today.

1. What do you do in your life that brings about more justice in the world? 
2. How, in your job, can you work toward these ends? 
3. How can you teach this to your family?