"You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute." Exo 23:2,3

This week we see God's Justice illustrated by the guidelines for application of it in two contrasting scenarios - the Majority opinion ( the multitude ) and a Minority report ( a single poor man ).

There is a Latin saying - " Vox populi, vox Dei " - the voice of the people is the voice of God. There are situations where this is true - Prov 11:14 tells us 'Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.' This however, refers to the collection and synthesis of the considered and reflective opinion of many wise persons. There is safety here in that multiple counselors enable different perspectives of a problem/issue to be brought to the surface and the final decision / judgement is the better for having taken into account multiple views.

An unruly mob however, is far more likely to be motivated by emotion, passion and the heat of the moment than sober and careful consideration. It may be welcoming a Messiah with shouts of Hosanna one day and baying for His blood with screams of 'Crucify Him!' the next! Standing up to a mob, or taking an unpopular position against the weight of public opinion is not easy, but we are commanded to stand up for what is right.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, a judge may hesitate to pass a particular sentence on a person because they are a member of a minority. This means that he/she is allowing considerations extraneous to the matter before him/her affect the judgement, and the Law clearly says that this should not be the case. We are COMMANDED to exercise proper judgement!

This goes much deeper than we may think. In Eden, mankind gained ( at the cost of sin and death ) the knowledge to discern Good and Evil. With this knowledge, he attained a higher level of being, as the enemy's half-truth promised. "Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. " - Gen 3:22 We now ALL have an innate capability to discern and judge good and evil, though it may differ in degrees of development/maturity! It is no coincidence that the Hebrew word for "judge/magistrate/god" is "Elohim" - the same word that is used to describe God Himself. Jesus uses that and quotes Psalm 82:6 in John 10:34 ( "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" ) to prove He was not blaspheming when He described Himself (and Us!) as divine.

There is only One who IS Good - God (Matt 19:17), and there is only one who is completely evil - opposed to everything God stands for - the adversary. The rest of the world is multiple billions of shades of gray! In this world, we are called to exercise Righteous Judgement (in the next world we will be called to judge angels! 1 Cor 6:3) as His representatives, showing forth His righteous justice.

This is only possible if we have His Word and His Spirit living within us, enabling us not to give in to knee-jerk or emotional reactions, but renewing our mind and sharpening our spiritual discernment so that we CAN rightly weigh a matter and come up with the right answer. No one or thing is completely good or completely bad but they require judgment to view them in the right context e.g. Killing for food is a necessary evil. Men do not despise a thief if he steals food when he is hungry. Fire, electricity, technology are not innately good or evil ... but can be used for both ends.Storms cause damage, but supply nitrogen to the earth. Suffering and trials are painful but build character ....

Extremism of any kind feeds on and stokes emotions of fear, anger, hatred - the mob mentality , the opposite of rational thought - as does political correctness - it's extremism disguised as rationality and caring, the other end of the pendulum! The world is not black and white. It would be easy if it were... but it is not. Gods Word is a sharp sword with edges on both sides. We need to learn it with humility and diligence before using it unwisely to inflict damage on our friends and ourselves. Lets take a look at an example....

Food offered to idols. The safest course of action is to avoid it as the Word teaches. Acts 15:29, "...ye abstain from meats offered to idols". However read 1 Cor 8, where the apostle Paul, with impeccable logic, says that the issue is not the idol ( which is known to be nothing ) or the eating of meats ( irrelevant in the eyes of God ) for one who has knowledge. The issue is eating it in front of one who does not have the same level of discernment! We avoid it to avoid offending our brother for whom Christ died as an act of love for him! Righteous judgement!!! Christ says it's not what goes in to the mouth that defiles a man but what comes out of his heart! (Matt 15:17-18) Is the Word contradicting itself? Absolutely not! It just requires the application of a deeper level of thinking to fully understand its implications! Superficial understanding would lead us to legalist doctrine and flame wars over this issue...

Growing up and maturing in the Word requires diligence, careful study and deep meditation. It will help us to avoid extremism, legalism, quick and impulsive rushes to judgment or over-simplification. Do not be carried away by every wave of doctrine, but like the noble Bereans study the scripture to see the truth for yourselves, if these things are indeed so! That study of scripture is best accompanied with a multitude of counselors ( in the form of multiple commentaries on the same passage by our elders in the faith) to help us understand and partake of the Just and Righteous component of the divine nature of our God!

The best example to follow of how to navigate the shades of gray in the world, and be a Good Human is Christ Himself! Fully conversant with the Law, fully obedient to it, and fully Human, He did not hate sinners, tax collectors, thieves, prostitutes, adulterers or even those possessed of evil spirits . He showed them love and compassion and went about doing Good... (Acts 10:38) extending mercy, compassion, healing and casting out devils- judging the sin not the sinner... and then gave us the authority and power to do the same in His Name, giving us the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead!

Hallelujah!