Dishonest Scales

I was bothered by something a great deal this week. The news cycle has been absolute chaos for a while, so this story has been lost. More than that, it has been intentionally buried. I sat on it a while and even started to write this on Monday. I was feeling genuinely angered by it, so I started and took a break to collect my thoughts and communicate them in a way that made sense. This has to do with the allegations recently brought forward against former Vice President Joe Biden.

The situation is nearly identical to the Brett Kavanaugh problem — except completely the opposite. Where you could stumble into thousands of articles praising Christine Blasey Ford and ruthlessly condemning Judge Kavanaugh, there are crickets for Biden’s accuser. Where there were vile, hateful people insisting that Ford’s uncorroborated verbal testimony indicted Kavanaugh without question, Biden’s reputation is being rigorously defended, and conspiracies are being hurled his accuser’s way.

I’m not saying Biden did what his accuser said he did. I’m not a judge or in law enforcement, and that’s not my responsibility. Innocent until proven guilty — that’s how it’s supposed to work. That is a standard that applies to everyone, not just when it is convenient. It applies to everyone, not just whoever is on your side of the political spectrum.

While I’m not accusing Biden, I am saying there is a disgusting, evil hypocrisy present in all of this. Brett Kavanaugh was accused and sentenced in the court of public opinion, by legislators, and by the media based on a story that literally no one corroborated. Biden’s accuser doesn’t have much, either, but she has a fair bit more than that other story. There is a staggering gap in the responses to both. Both are equally absurd; one story treats a decades old allegation as hard fact, the other dismisses the allegation out of hand, without asking any intelligent questions.

Why aren’t the media having a cow over the Biden situation? There’s more evidence, and the situation is pretty much the same. Where is the fury, the shouts for vengeance and justice? Gone. Silent. Hiding. Nowhere to be seen.

Why venomously insist that one man must be guilty but another must be innocent, without asking all of the questions? Whether or not an assault took place, it is right to allow someone to speak, to tell their story. This is true both for the accuser and the one being accused. No matter what the situation — this should be the principle both our representatives and our justice system follows.

This is not what has happened in the media or within the public statements of certain lawmakers and representatives. They are not treating this accusation in the same manner. They don’t even mention it or give this other woman any time or respect.

The only crimes Brett Kavanaugh committed to assert his guilt was that he was a conservative judge and opposed to some of their legislation. They violently forced the scales to fit their agenda. But in this situation, when it’s somebody in their camp, they rush to his defense and push the scales the other way. There’s no way he can be guilty, and it doesn’t matter anyway because we need him to win votes! They don’t really care about women or about justice, they only care about the brownie points they get from society.

Not only are most of them supporting him with zero mention of treating his accuser the same way they have treated others, some of them are women that are outright ignoring what their support may tell other women who have faced horrible abuse and were silenced by men in power. Especially if the alleged assault is determined to have actually happened! How does that help the people they claim they want justice for?

The scales are obviously and horrendously dishonest. Again, I’m not saying Biden did or did not do anything, that is beyond the realm of my control or knowledge. I am saying that all of this is very wrong and should alarm journalists, politicians, and average Americans alike. This should inspire people to hold all leaders of all political leanings accountable.

This whole situation is hypocrisy, period. It doesn’t matter what political party it is. If it were any other group behaving this way, or any other person in the spotlight, it would be just as evil.

The Bible doesn’t have anything nice to say about hypocrisy:

The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with Him. (Proverbs 11:1)

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:5)

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:29)

So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:28)

And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. (Luke 11:39)

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. (Romans 2:1–2)

I don’t want to be overly negative; I also want to make sure I never forget any of this, however it goes forward. I won’t ignore evil or let it be swept under the rug. I also know that it isn’t my job to execute judgement. I have to trust in the righteous judgement of God, and His will that wickedness be rooted out and hypocrisy exposed. Fortunately, that’s the good result that comes from the gross injustice of human evil: God redeems and undoes it.

Here’s some of that very good news:

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”(Zechariah 7:9–10)

He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. (Psalm 33:5)

Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking bribes. (2 Chronicles 19:7)

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:17–18)

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)

So, I can rest and relinquish my anger, as righteous as it is, because God will deal with all of them. Biden and the media and Kavanaugh and both their accusers — all of them will be brought before the Lord to answer for everything. Their choices, their attitudes and their words will be called to account. Whether they were right or wrong, good or evil, God will mark them for eternity. For my part, I should do what the Bible tells me: Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (Ephesians 5:11)

My only responsibility is to trust in the judgement of God, while exposing and combating the works of darkness. I also have a unique opportunity to be a citizen of a country with access to social media and the freedom to use it, protected from tyranny. I have the ability to stand in plain view and point at evil with the biggest, most obnoxious, brightly-lit neon arrow — and there’s nothing they can do to keep me quiet. I will take advantage of that blessing the best way I can, no matter how small.

The most effective way to do this is to stay near the Bible and in the church. Trust your own eyes and ears, guided by the Holy Spirit. Trust in godly family members, leaders, and friends. Do not lend your ears to anyone or anything else, because their scales are dishonest — it’s all they know how to do. We know better. We stand up for the innocent, preserve justice, and weigh the scales of life with integrity. We should do that no matter what, and especially when there are many who do not.

I sincerely believe that God is bringing a hurricane of justice very soon. They may pretend none of this is happening, and bury it in accusation and deflection and cynicism, but God does not listen to their voice. He listens to ours. He listens to the cries of the innocent and the oppressed, and He hears the prayers of the righteous.

He will cleanse the institutions of our country that were originally designed to bring freedom and truth.

He will vindicate the oppressed and the innocent.

We can rest knowing that we have done our best, that we have partnered with God, and that God will honor our longing for justice.

There’s a very good reason for us to partner with God and His justice; the prophet Isaiah is given a picture of the result of righteousness from one generation to another:

“For I the Lord love justice;

I hate robbery and wrong;

I will faithfully give them their recompense,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their offspring shall be known among the nations,

and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;

all who see them shall acknowledge them,

that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.” (Isaiah 61:8–9)

I know this is a longer read, but this was significant for me. As I was writing, I realized that what I was feeling is a sliver of the amount of anger God has toward injustice. I have friends who are pursuing justice in the face of horrific evil, and I can’t comprehend how they deal with it on a daily basis. Evil shouldn’t be ignored; it shouldn’t be all we focus on, but we can’t let it go unopposed.

Once again, there is spectacularly good news that is stronger than the fog of injustice: God sees. Evil will wither under His gaze, but we will prosper. We have to be careful to practice wisdom and not allow aggression to mess with our decisions and emotions. Justice is something that we understand, because it is God’s idea. We must ensure our justice system operates under God’s justice, and not the underhanded and unbalanced justice of the world.

I’m excited to see Him deal with the devil’s influence in this country and across the world. I’m confident that the truth will be revealed. I have hope that this season won’t define 2020. I know that God’s justice will prevail over corrupt, overreaching government decisions. I know that this next season will be brighter and more prosperous than anyone anticipated. Until then, my responsibility is to trust the Bringer of Justice, and do as He says.

Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely. (Proverbs 25:8)