Justice to God(Tuesday, Week 9, Year 1, 2021)

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A breeding ground for violence and anarchy is prepared whenever and wherever there is no justice. Our times can bear witness to that! In a layman’s language, justice is giving each person his or her due while injustice is willfully and maliciously withholding whatever that rightfully belongs to someone or some group.


There is an interesting part of Tobit 2:9-14 which must be highlighted. Tobit did not know that the animal he saw roaming around his house was a present given to Anna his wife by her customers. Out of a strict sense of justice, Tobit’s first reaction was that the wife should let the owners have it back. He added, “We have no right to eat stolen goods”. 


This part of the narrative is worthy of mention because it highlights a virtue which seems to be very rare in our time: the virtue of justice. We will enjoy more peace and know little or no violence when people begin to toe the path of justice by ensuring that whatever is due to anyone is given or restored to him or her. 


In His response to the Chief Priests, the scribes and the elders on the issue of payment of taxes to Caesar, Jesus pointedly remarked and highlighted that duty to God and to the state is a matter of justice: “Give back to Caesar what belongs and to God what belongs to God” (cf. Mk. 12:13-17). At the end of the day, when all is said and done, we may end up agreeing to the fact that the earth and its fullness (including Caesar) belongs to God (cf. Psa. 24:1). 


Within the context of that gospel passage, let us understand “Caesar” as a symbol which stands for all legally constituted authorities. Since all authority comes from God (Rom. 13:1), then we need not overemphasize the fact that the “Caesar” status is a divine property. Obeying Caesar inasmuch as Caesar obeys God is a concrete example of giving back to God what rightly belongs to Him. It is not just a responsibility which we owe to the State; it is justice which we must render to God.             


Have a blessed day!

Happy New Month!



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