Your Guilty Just Because I'm Better than You

Have you ever noticed how the "truth" is skewed in favor of certain people or groups? Or that "justice" is perverted in this same way?

A young man is walking around in a neighborhood he does not live in... there are two ways this story is written and reacted to depending on race: "A black man was skulking around a neighborhood, obviously up to no good." or "A white man was wandering around a neighborhood." Usually, the black man gets shot, or arrested. The white man is ignored, regardless of whether or not he's up to no good. Perversion of justice and truth.

Or what about when it comes to financial status? A rich woman is raped by a low or middle class man. Something gets done immediately to bring justice to the situation. A poor woman is raped by the same person, and obviously she must have done something to bring the situation on herself. Perversion of justice and truth.

Or what about even in your own community or Church? A poor person, or one who just doesn't belong to the right family, has a complaint - it is usually ignored. A more prestigious person has a complaint, something gets done right away. Or, that "lower class" person is in need, he/she is ignored by the community or Church. But someone more prestigious is in need, and the community and/or Church jump in immediately to help out. Perversion.

Or, what about with yourself? Someone you care about does something wrong, you turn a blind eye to it. Someone you don't care for does the same thing... you demand something be done about it. Or, you see someone you care about in need - you reach out to help them. Someone you don't like? You turn a blind eye. Perversion.

And, I will admit, I have been guilty of perversion such as this, and I have been on the receiving end of this perversion.

23 You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness. ² You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice; ³ nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit.

⁴ When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back.
⁵ When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.^[a]
6 You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits. ⁷ Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty. ⁸ You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
⁹ You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 23:1-8)

We like to side with the stronger party

We do. We like to side with the stronger party, regardless of who is right or wrong. We don't want to be thought of as someone who would "betray" his/her "own people." And therefore, we may bend the truth (or in some cases, outright lie) to follow that majority. We pervert truth and justice just to stay within that majority.

And we really don't like to help our enemies

Face it. Helping our enemies is not at the top of our list. I've often told people that I do not wish my parents dead for what they put me through as a child... but if I saw them bleeding on the side of the road, I wouldn't stop to help them. I figure it's simply justice being dealt. How horrible is this? How much of a perversion of God's commandment to love one another is this?

But this is exactly what God tells us not to do

Of course, none of us are very good at listening to what God tells us not to do. But, He still tells us. We are not to side with the majority when the majority is wrong. We are not to ignore the innocent, or create laws to further hurt them, or not give them what they should be allowed. There is right and there is wrong. There is guilty and there is innocent. And we all know this. And we are not allowed to skew the truth in favor of those we like and in disfavor to those whom we do not like.

And we should not stand by while others do this.