Recently, Vox published a quite thorough article about the most recent updates in the 2020 Congressional Insider Trading Scandal. The latest news being that 3 of the 4 Senators are off-the-hook; and frankly, it’s good to see that Senators Loeffler, Imhofe, and Feinstein are being exonerated. It’s good to see that Senators aren’t engaged in insider-trading or trying to use their position to unfairly enrich themselves.
However, and this is a big however, it is really difficult to PROVE insider trading. So, its well to remember that just because the DOJ dropped the case doesn’t mean that the 3 senators are innocent, it simply means that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to continue with an investigation or prosecution. And that’s one of the most confusing things about our justice system. Some people LOOK guilty, and go to trial because there is a lot of evidence that SEEMS to implicate them in a crime. But they aren’t guilty. Yet, there are a lot of people who ARE guilty, but they’re guilty in a way where there is no evidence trail – and so they’re exonerated long before any kind of trial or indictment.
Some innocent people LOOK guilty and some guilty people LOOK innocent. And this is really frustrating and confusing. We hate how complicated issues of justice are because we want things to be black and white and simple. We want the guilty to be punished and we want the innocent to go free and we want it to be simple and straightforward – but it isn’t.
God knows it is complicated. And I’m not being flippant or blasphemous, I mean that literally – God knows how difficult it is to arrive at the truth in questions of justice.
Deuteronomy 17:2-7
2 If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant, 3 and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky, 4 and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death. 6 On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.
Deuteronomy 19:15-21
15 One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
16 If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, 17 the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. 21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Matthew 18:15-20
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
I Timothy 5:17-21
17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. 21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
Over and over again in the scripture God is plain that serious accusations cannot be brought forth simply by one person and one person alone.
Now, maybe you’ve never considered this, but this means that sometimes guilty people go free and innocent people get off.
Look for instance at the issue of Naboth’s Vineyard.King Ahab wanted the Vineyard, but Naboth refused to sell it and Ahab sulks and falls into self pity, but then Jezebel solves the problem with a legal-murder!
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:
“Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people.
10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.
And here is a clear example of an abuse of power and legal murder. And God condemned Ahab and Jezebel for it. And, of course we see the same thing during Jesus’ trials! Matthew tells us that many false witnesses came forwards, but their testimony didn’t agree and therefore there wasn’t sufficient evidence to condemn Jesus.
But, what we see is that even though God created the provision requiring 2 or 3 witnesses even this, oftentimes, was not enough to stop abuses. And of course we expect that simple testimony itself often would be insufficient, since we have the provision for dealing with false witnesses. God intended there to be a search for evidence and an attempt to do a thorough investigation and not simply take people’s word for it. But when the legal system is full of corrupt people it doesn’t matter how good the system is – corrupt officials can corrupt even the best system. And, good men and women can make even a bad system pretty good.
And that’s the great debate going on in our country right now – there are people who see all the corruption and malfeasance and abuses of power and they say that the whole system needs overhauled. Then there are others who are saying that nothing is wrong at all, because they have a vested interest in the system we have.
But neither position is realistic. Does our justice system have problems – absolutely it does.
No question.
Absolutely.
But the problem isn’t the structure of the system, but the fact that we have corrupt and immoral people in positions of power within the system. Yeah, the US Justice system has problem and it needs reform – but frail and faulty though it is, it’s the best system in the world. We need to push and never stop pushing to fulfill the credo of the US which is equal justice under law. We truly want Justice to be blind. And we should keep working towards that. But we have a system that has gotten us closer and closer to that for centuries. No we’re not there yet, but we get closer and closer because the system of being innocent until proven guilty, having a jury of peers, having a right to council and not self-incriminate, to not be intimidated or beaten by police, the need for real evidence, these things mean that sometimes the guilty go free – but it also protects the innocent.
We don’t have a perfectly just nation – but the problem is not primarily because we have a faulty system, but because we have corrupt men and women in positions of power. Corruption poisons everything good and needs to be rooted up and destroyed!
Christians need to use their voices to point out where there are abuses of power and need to be radically intolerant of corruption – even when the corruption exposes corrupt people who are on our side. Because the reality is that corrupt people AREN’T on our side – they aren’t on ANYBODY’S side. They are on their own side: the side which undermines justice and a nation of laws, a side which is immoral and sinful and godless.
God hates corruption and so must all who seek to be on God’s side.
I hope and pray we will.