Justification

Within the course of my daily affairs, I quite often witness, and that is to say that is all I see, the phenomenon of justification. There is a theological form of justification, which Noah Webster so eloquently defines in his 1828 dictionary, “remission of sin and absolution from guilt and punishment; or an act of free grace by which God pardons the sinner and accepts him as righteous, on account of the atonement of Christ.” Our beautiful goal, but not the justification I am witness to. What I speak of is man pardoning himself for his own self-centered behavior.

Trust me; I am not here to condemn but to share. We are creatures that rely on our five senses and our wits to navigate, negotiate and translate the events of our lives. We learn from experience, but each experience is skewed by our emotional perception, and our hurts don’t heal very fast. Without relying on God and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, we are doomed to a mundane life full of self doubt and often chaotic thoughts. This in turn manifests our cardinal behavior. The world appears to rotate around us and as long as we keep our ears and eyes closed, it will forever remain that way. Should anyone question our reasoning or actions we can robotically render a justification. We see ourselves as victims or “in control”, or a little of both. It’s nonetheless uncommon for our conscience to boil up from inside and cause us to justify our behavior by venting to a friend; a ritual so common that we don’t even realize that we’re doing it let alone know that we probably shouldn’t.

There is no good or righteous justification for our self-centered behavior. It is not endearing us to our loved ones, friends and especially God. Instead, look outside of yourself through the eyes of love. Live your life devoted to loving all and fill your heart and mind with compassion instead of self. First Peter, chapter three tells us so profoundly and beautifully in verses eight through twelve:
“ 8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”

Let’s try to heed the still quiet voice within us, the Holy Spirit, and be loving and compassionate and leave justification to God.

God speed!