Blindfolded Lady Justice just got smacked across the face again by the failure to prosecute Jussie Smollett as deals went down in the dingy, dirty politics of Chicago.
“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
When Romans 11:22 shares about the kindness and severity of God, some in today’s culture don’t want to believe a God of love can actually hate sin. Billy Graham once wrote, “… that God hates sin just as a father hates a rattlesnake that threatens the safety and life of his child. God loathes evil and diabolic forces that would pull people down to a godless eternity just as a mother hates a venomous spider that is found playing on the soft, warm flesh of her little baby.”
Chicago and America have recently seen such poisonous actions related to the Smollett case – actions God detests.
USA Today reported the Chicago mayor and police are outraged at the dropped charges. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said prosecutors and Smollett are “hiding behind (court) secrecy to broker a deal to circumvent the judicial system.” He continues to stand behind his detectives, and added, “At the end of the day, Mr. Smollet committed this hoax. Do I think justice was served? No.”
Hoax? Perhaps some mistake this “deception” as something humorous or something akin to an “April Fool’s Day” joke or prank. It was malicious. It was meant to do harm to others and their reputation while building himself up and building up his causes.
Make sure you understand the label “fake hate crime” in this case does NOT mean there was no crime. The crime isn’t “fake.” Smollett was formally accused of 16 felony counts by a grand jury. But the Chicago judicial system failed to prosecute, and it hides its deals in secrecy.
Don’t worry. God’s standards won’t be mocked forever. But this doesn’t hold true just for Jussie Smollett and Chicago. It holds true for America too.
So as we look at the six things, don’t just nod your head in agreement at the obvious connections to the Smollett case. Please ask the Holy Spirit to look in your heart so you can ask God’s forgiveness too.
In Proverbs 6:16-19 NIV, it clearly states:
There are six things the Lord hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
Haughty eyes. Meanings and synonyms include “to be conceited, foolish,” “of excessive weight, size,” “to lift oneself up,” or to “puff or blow up.” Smollett created a story about how MAGA supporters beat him, left a noose around his neck and screamed, “This is MAGA country.” Romans 1:28-31 talks about those God has given up to do what shouldn’t be done and describes them as “inventors of evil.”
A lying tongue. Inventors of evil usually do so with lying tongues. From paying bodyguards or personal trainers with a personal check to beat him up and be complicit in the crime, Smollett fits this one too.
A heart that devises wicked schemes. This case is all tied up with wicked schemes and double-standards. From Smollett’s original lies to the complicit deals mentioned earlier, we see that the laws of the land are not equally applied by a blindfolded Lady Justice who weighs the evidence. The evidence is not about which political party you vote for or what status you seemingly hold in society.
Feet that are quick to rush to evil. How long did this plan stay in Smollett’s heart before he handwrote the checks to pay his accomplices?
A false witness who pours out lies. Pours out? The FBI is still investigating a possibly fraudulent letter Smollett may have written. One lie after another is a great way to describe “pours out.”
A person who stirs up conflict in a community. Smollett stirred up conflict across the nation in addition to Chicago. The mayor and police say he should pay $130,000 for the investigators' time on this hoax. Considering Chicago has had the highest murder rates in America, how much better could their time have been used? Plus, they don’t want to encourage people to file false reports which waste even more of their already limited time, energy, and resources.
Did you notice I skipped “hands that shed innocent blood” from the verse? Not all crimes shed innocent blood, and luckily, as far as I can tell, that didn't occur here. However, I’ll address this in another article, which I’ll probably title, “Seven Things God Hates about Abortion in America.” Even if you don’t get a chance to read it, it will be built on the same verses in Proverbs with research and information you probably haven't seen or heard.
A Call to Repentance
"It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," Hebrews 10:31 (KJV)
As you read that above about Smollett, did God convict you? If so, it is just further acknowledgment all have sinned. 1 Peter 4:17 says, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
National repentance begins with each individual. While you cannot control what other people do if God convicts their hearts, you can control your willingness to ask forgiveness and turn from your past behaviors with God’s help if you have been convicted. There's no need to continue to grieve or quench the Holy Spirit.
How? Stay in the Bible and let the two-edged sword of His Word discern your thoughts and intentions (Hebrews 4:12). Then ask Him again to “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Finally as Matthew 3:8 says, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” Unless we do, we certainly will face the severity of God because we've all done things which God detests.
God's standards convict us all, and none of us will get off unpunished eternally unless we take and receive the only way God provides to fully meet His standard -- a restored relationship to God through the crucifixion of Jesus for our sins and then Jesus' resurrection. God's character requires punishment for the sins he hates and detests. When we understand and accept Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life, and that He is the way to God the Father (John 14:6), then we will understand there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
If you are not certain of your standing with God or are seeking a restored relationship with God, please visit here or here.
