Why Do You Make Me Look at Injustice?

Why do you make me look at injustice?
- Habakkuk 1:3

The prophet Habakkuk was educated, musically talented, and well-versed in his religious traditions. He had a lot going for him. And yet God had a habit of making him face injustice. Habakkuk didn’t like it. It would have been more pleasant for Habakkuk if God let him pretend it wasn’t there. No doubt it would have been more convenient. Perhaps Habakkuk would have felt better about himself and been more ‘well-adjusted’ if he could have just been left alone by God’s big heart for the world. But that’s not how God works.

Wherever we are in life, God is always giving us opportunities to see the injustice of the world. It’s probably not because God wants to spoil our day, but far more likely that it’s a chance for us to wake up to the reality of our world, to grow in empathy, and for the discomfort to drive us into anger, lament, and action.

Is there an injustice that God keeps bringing up to you, inviting you to care about it, to get angry about it, to get involved with it?