everybody loves a tattletale

Today JuJu and I joined Stephen at Chick-fil-A for lunch, grateful to have that opportunity for another few days. We certainly looked like a little family, though I am sure that anyone who watched our interactions closely would have found it strange how wary she was around her "dad", who we refer to as "Mr. Stephen."

After a lunch of french fries, banana mish mash and blueberries, I took Juliet to the indoor playground for a few minutes to stretch her legs and see some other kids. What a claustrophobic miniature of life beyond 48 inches.

I enjoy kids, love seeing Juliet process what their actions mean, and especially appreciate learning about the world through the realities that children display.

Not to anyone's surprise, one little girl was injured in the kid zone. Whether the pain was truly physical or primarily emotional, I cannot judge, but some sort of hurt was inflicted, and she ran out of the playground, into the restaurant with the classic line, "I'M TELLING MY MOM!"

I did not see the resolution to this conflict. The only other bit of the story that I can offer is that it seems this child was upset with a stranger, making it highly unlikely that her mother would have any opportunity to serve justice. Oh, she was sure to have been comforting and sympathetic, reassuring and tender, but no other mom ever came to discipline the son or daughter who had committed the offense.

And it occurred to me that the best case scenario for justice would be if the girl's sister had hurt her, so that Mom could convict and punish. The next best option would be for a "frienemy," a friend whose parents had a relationship with Mom, who would take seriously the fact that their child had acted out.

But what is far more likely in such a crowded public place, is that the other mother remained oblivious to her child's misdeed. And even if she had found out, there is still a chance she would have swept it under the rug, made an excuse, or been angry that her "angel" was accused of wrongdoing. And that stinks. No fair.

It made me think about humanity as a whole.

There is comfort in running to mom or dad when injustice abounds. It is innately wired in us to do so.

When someone or something offends us, we feel we have the right and the need to go to someone higher, someone in charge, to appeal for what is fair. And where would the world be if these governing bodies did not exist? Most in the first world would agree that anarchy is not conducive to rights or true freedom. For this reason, most of us submit, or at least subscribe to the ideology behind submission, to the government, the school administration, the justice system, the coach, the board, the HOA, the IRS, the boss, etc. When we limit ourselves by accepting authority, everyone is better off. And when others choose to act out of line, we are confident to take matters to those with influence and power to incite change or invoke consequences.

This is how we operate.

But some atrocities are bigger than our lives can handle. And despite our best efforts to form governing bodies that monitor the behavior of the entire world, some issues simply cannot be addressed by any one entity.

Sex trafficking.

Sex-selective abortion.

Abortion.

Genocide.

And so many more.

And this is where the "open-minded, non-discriminatory" belief that "what's right for you is right for you, and what's right for me is right for me" has a head-on collision with the reality of human nature. Or the idea that all religions are basically the same, faith is all you need, all religions get you to God.

For kids on the playground, each one's safety is dependent on the standards of behavior set by the parents of every other child around. If one parent is flippant about the responsibility of raising a child with social awareness and respect, the playground is no longer safe. Every parent is different.

Do we really think that human existence is without a judge, an arbitrator? At least in the end? If societies are either made or broken based upon the institution of justice, the declaration of right and wrong, the implementation of consequences for perpetrators, and the preservation of the innocent, do we really expect to reach the end of this world and find that none of it mattered? Deep down, can we really accept that?

Because here are our options.

There is no God. There is no accountability. There is no life after this. There is only now and nothing later. What we feel as injustice is only part of what makes us fit or unfit for survival.

There is a God who accepts all faiths, faith of any kind. He is too kind to judge. He takes into account your upbringing, accepts excuses, winks his eye, smooths everything over, ignores atrocity.

There is a God who will make all fair. And He will make it fairer than we want it to be. He will satisfy our desire for retribution and then some. He will hold each man and woman accountable. He will overlook no tears, no children, no lack of mercy. And He will punish extremely, radically, horrifically, eternally.

To say there is no God denies the wiring, the anger, the fury we feel at times.

To say he will not judge is to make him truly cruel, lazy, uncaring, unkind, not good, and unworthy of respect, devotion, adoration.

To say He will judge with a heavy fist, a righteous gavel, somehow makes this world and its pains a little more palatable.

But if He judges justly, then He must judge us as well. For if He is in essence Perfection, then weighty, outrageous offenders will not be His only criminals. Even what we would call misdemeanors are high crimes before the Pure and Spotless King, and as such will bear the weight of His wrath just the same.

Despair nearly sets in. If even the world's innocent are to be judged harshly, is there no hope?

But there is.

The entirety of God's wrath, we see, has already been poured out. On one man. On one cross. At one time.

God, in the flesh, Jesus the Christ, perfect and human, simultaneously, submitted to death on the cross. The greatest injustice of all time: vilest shame and death for the immaculate GodMan.

He took the punishment that all of us had earned. So that not all humans would be crushed on that final day of judgment, Jesus Christ accepted the conviction and endured the penalty. Not so that injustice was added to injustice. For when He did so, the perfection He had earned was offered to mankind if we would accept the arrangement God had made, if we would admit that what happened to Jesus should have happened to us, if we would humbly turn from the wickedness that made such drastic reparation necessary, if we would choose to submit in love to the authority and kindness of our Loving Despot.

Despot may be an odd choice in wording, but is that not what we need, what we long for? Someone all-loving, all-just, concerned for us, and all-powerful to act in our best interest, at all times. We know there should be someone who can handle it, someone who will act, someone who will not be hindered in any way from righting wrongs.

He made us to be this way. He made us to look for Him. He is written on our hearts.

And that is why we tattle.

We are tattletales because He is real.

"Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice." Proverbs 29:26