The morning started off innocently enough. Robbie had woken up and, as usual, the first words out of his mouth were, “I’m hungry.” This was followed by him crawling into our bed to both cuddle and make sure that neither of us could fall back asleep. In the midst of our playing with him and joking about his incessant eating, Anita saw a large bug on our bedroom wall and asked me to engage in my husbandly duty of killing it. Wanting to honor my wife, I got up and went to grab a bit of toilet paper so I could strike down the savage beast. In other words, everything seemed normal, at least until I walked into the bathroom and found the shade pulled up, the window wide open, and the chord used to raise and lower the shade tied to a pipe outside the bathroom window. Anita seemed to know instantly just what had happened, and she walked to our office to confirm her suspicions. As I started to put the pieces together, she called out from the other room, “They’re gone.” I stepped into the hallway, looked towards the office, and saw the table that had been home to our laptops … my brand new MacBook and our old iBook G4… were missing. I went to talk to the other American couple who are living on campus only to find out that their laptop and cell phone had also been stolen in the night. As we stood there angry and violated, we were left with the lingering question, “What is the response of someone who is seeking to repent and believe to this or any other injustice?”

But before we begin to look to answers to that question, let’s take things a step further. This crime happened in South Africa where, for hundreds of years, injustices have been committed by the white minority towards the black, Indian, and colored (which is an acceptable term here) majority. This racially based subjugation of people only escalated in the 20th Century with Apartheid, and didn’t come to a formal end until recently (although ethnic tensions still run high). In fact, the theft of our laptops happened between the 20th anniversary of former President F.W. de Klerk’s announcement that he was disbanding Apartheid and the 20th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. In South Africa today, there is still rampant inequality and injustice, which only feeds crime, much of which is viewed as a modern day Robin Hood scenario where there is theft from the rich so the poor may survive. In other words, there are some who would argue that the theft of our laptops, which we viewed as an injustice towards us, was in fact, one small piece of bringing about justice in South Africa. To give you an idea of just how far this view goes, when we called the police to report the break-in, the officer listened to our story, told us that he’d enter the information in the computer, and then hung up (as you might guess, when we followed up later, no entry had been made). As we talked to others, they relayed that the police had no response to multiple intrusions, and in one case, came when the resident had captured the thief in his home, only to take the thief to the street and release him because he hadn’t managed to steal anything before getting caught.

So, what is the response of someone who is seeking to repent and believe to this or any other injustice? One automatic response would be to place the matter in the hands of the local authority, an action that would be in line with Paul’s teaching in Romans 13:1-5, where he states that God has established government to punish those who do evil:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

But obviously, in South Africa, putting the matter in the hands of the local police doesn’t result in justice being done, rather, it only welcomes further violations because there is no punishment for wrong-doing. At this point, we might assume that since the police don’t do the job, then it’s time to go all Charles Bronson and take up the vigilante approach to crime, which, is simply the Robin Hood approach turned on it’s head. However, if we take time to read through the prophets in the Hebrew Bible, we’ll discover that God’s people, when injustice is committed against them, aren’t invited to seek revenge, be it Robin Hood or Bronson-style, rather, God’s people are to seek reconciliation and justice through peaceable means. Moreover, if revenge is ultimately necessary, it will be God himself who brings it about.

Now if it’s God who brings it about, what are we who seek to repent and believe to do here and now in response to injustice? I would propose that this is where the Church can make use of the imprecatory Psalms, those occasional Psalms that make us feel uncomfortable because of their harsh language. Just in case you’re not sure what I’m talking about, here’s a couple of examples:

Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. (Psalm 69:22-28)

Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin! May his days be few; may another take his office! May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow! May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit! May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil! Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children! May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation! May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out! Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth! (Psalm 109:6-15)

While we can be honest that these Psalms don’t sound very Christian or loving, we also have to admit two other realities. One, they express how we feel when injustice is committed against us. Now, maybe in our own self-righteous piety we don’t want to go as far as Psalm 137 and bash the heads of children against rocks, but there is a legitimate desire on our part for things to be made right, after all, that’s why we call the police, play Robin Hood, or go all Charles Bronson on someone. Second, if we read these Psalms in their entirety, they place great faith and trust in God. We could even say that these Psalms put words to our human wishes and desires, but then also force us to place the issue in the hands of God so that he can bring about justice.

And that’s why I think they’re helpful when injustice has been committed. I’ll be honest, when I first realized that someone had broken into my home while my family and I slept, I was outraged, not just because property was taken, but because my family was put at risk. What would have happened if Robbie had woken up and stumbled upon the intruders? As that possibility crossed my mind and heart, I did wish for violence to be done against those who came into our home and anyone who was an accomplice in the break in … and I didn’t want it to be quick and painless, I wanted a Jack Bauer interrogation level of punishment. In the process, I prayed my own imprecatory psalms against the criminals, but like the Psalmists, I didn’t just layout my desired vengeance, I also placed my trust in God’s promise to, in this life or in eternity, bring about justice. I admitted that, outside of working with the legal system that was available, the crime wasn’t mine to resolve, rather, the task was left to the established authority and ultimately to God.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts. To get things going, here’s a few questions for discussion fodder:

• How in your life have you experienced injustice? What was the resolution?
• Do you agree that, ultimately, justice needs to be left in the hands of God and his established authority? Are there situations where you’d challenge this claim?
• What do you think about my use of the Imprecatory Psalms as a model of prayer when injustice has been committed?

Postscript 1: After developing my thoughts, I had to go to the local police station to get a case number for insurance purposes. When I went to the station, wearing my collar, and carrying a child, they were much more responsive and not only filled out a police report, but sent out an investigator to collect fingerprints. While I’m still not impressed, I did want to honor the action they did eventually take.

Postscript 2: A couple days after our laptops were taken, I received an email from an individual who had purchased my MacBook. He found my information still on it and emailed to find out why I sold it, and wanted to get a bit of information on the machine. When I told him that it had been stolen, he went back to the guy he bought it from, got his money back, and returned my computer to me. There’s no news on the iBook and we’re filing an insurance claim for it (although most of the value will be eaten up by the deductible).