At AWANA circles around the world, children inevitably cry out, “It’s not fair!” Cheating, being left out, not getting picked for the team — it happens every Tuesday night. But here’s what’s remarkable: adults say it too. Thirty-five-year-olds, forty-five-year-olds, seventy-five-year-olds. We all have this internal sense of fairness. Why? Because we are made in the image of God, who is holy, righteous, and just. The problem is, we’re also sinners — selfish, prideful, and prone to harming others. So while we have a God-given sense of justice, we live in a world saturated with injustice. Ecclesiastes 3:16 captures Solomon’s sober observation: “I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.”
Where Do We See Injustice?
Injustice shows up in three main areas of life. First, in society at large — the unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, and treatment. Second, when rights are violated — whether civil rights, safety, or equality under the law. Third, and this is where it hits closest to home, in undeserved outcomes: people punished more severely than they should be, or rewarded more generously than they’ve earned. You apply for a job, fit every qualification perfectly, and watch the position go to someone’s relative instead. You obey the speed limit, are the only one pulled over, while everyone else speeds on by. These sting because they are unfair.
The Parable That Sounds Unfair
Jesus told a parable that, on the surface, appears to be the ultimate example of injustice. In Matthew 20:1-16, a master hires workers at different times throughout the day — some at dawn, some at the third hour, some at the sixth and ninth, and some just an hour before closing. At evening, he pays them all the same wage: one denarius. The workers who labored all day in the scorching heat received exactly what the one-hour workers received. The all-day crew grumbled: “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”
But the master responded: “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?”
Was it fair? If you were one of the first workers, no — it felt like a raw deal. But here’s the point: God owes no one anything. Grace means getting what you don’t deserve. And if anyone — anyone — receives grace, that’s an act of mercy, not an injustice. Jesus closes the parable with this unsettling truth: “So the last will be first, and the first last.”
John 16:33 gives us the larger frame: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Injustice is a tribulation every person on earth will face. It will drive you insane if you let it.
Three Things to Remember When Injustice Comes
1. God Will Repay
Solomon ends Ecclesiastes with this warning: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). God will judge. This is both comfort and warning.
Romans 2 reinforces this: God “will render to each one according to his work: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:6-8). God shows no partiality.
The ultimate future reckoning is the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 — where every person whose name is not found written in the book of life will be judged according to their works and thrown into the lake of fire. That is the destiny of unrepentant sin.
So why doesn’t God act right now? Romans 2:4 answers: “Do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” God is patient because He wants people to turn to Him. He is giving space for grace.
2. You Didn’t Get What You Deserve
This is especially for those who have placed faith in Jesus Christ. You broke God’s law. You sinned. And yet God did not treat you as you deserved in that moment. Instead, He has been patient, merciful, and forgiving.
It’s deeply ironic: we get upset when others don’t get what they deserve — whether punishment or reward — and yet we expect special treatment ourselves. We want grace for ourselves and full justice for everyone else. Romans 2:1 cuts through this: “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.”
Ephesians 2 describes what God did instead of giving us what we deserve: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ… For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9).
Mercy means God doesn’t always give us what we deserve. Grace means God gives us what we don’t deserve — the full forgiveness of sins and Christ’s righteousness credited to our account. When you see someone who harmed you getting away with it, remember: you are not getting what you deserve either. Thank God for that.
3. Control What You Can Control
You cannot control other people’s actions. You cannot force the world to be fair. But you can control how you respond. And God calls you to respond with peace, not vengeance.
Romans 12:17-21 gives the divine instruction: “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 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.'” Vengeance makes for great movies. But vengeance — the obsessive desire to punish someone who wronged you — will consume you. It puts you in an emotional and mental prison. And it reveals a heart that doesn’t truly trust God to handle justice.
Two reasons not to seek revenge: First, you’ll mess it up — you’ll go too far or not far enough. God will get it right; you won’t. Second, revenge damages you. It defiles you. Hebrews 12:14-15 warns: “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” Bitterness is what happens when injustice has no resolution and we refuse to hand it over to the Lord.
Instead: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32). Forgiving someone doesn’t mean what they did was okay. It doesn’t mean you let them keep taking advantage of you. It means you are handing the punishment over to God in His time, pursuing peace, and treating others the way God has treated you — with grace.
The Standard: Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly
The prophet Micah gives us the summary: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). That’s the response to every injustice you will face: pursue justice where you can, extend mercy where you must, and walk in humility knowing that God sees, God knows, and God will repay.
In an unjust world, you can be a person who does not repay evil for evil. You can be someone who forgives. You can be someone who trusts God’s timing. That is what it looks like to image a holy, righteous God in a broken world — and it points people to the only One who truly experienced injustice on their behalf: Jesus Christ, who died on the cross bearing the punishment that you and I deserved.
Scripture References
- Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 — Injustice in the place of justice
- Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 — The tears of the oppressed
- Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 — God will bring every deed into judgment
- Matthew 20:1-16 — The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
- Romans 2:1-8 — God’s righteous judgment
- Romans 12:17-21 — Leave vengeance to God; pursue peace
- Ephesians 2:1-9 — Saved by grace, not works
- Ephesians 4:31-32 — Put away bitterness; forgive as God forgave you
- Hebrews 12:14-15 — Beware the root of bitterness
- Revelation 20:11-15 — The Great White Throne Judgment
- Micah 6:6-8 — What the Lord requires: justice, kindness, humility