Why Magufuli administration misses the point on Government splurge

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Just Grace

It has been said that the biggest problem on earth is not too little democracy, or too much poverty, or too few anti-viral AIDS medicines, but the fact that two-thirds of the world’s population live outside the protection of the law. A lack of justice has a terrible effect on many of the world’s poor.
The themes of justice and grace flow through the Bible. We cannot fully understand grace without understanding justice. One definition of grace is ‘undeserved love’. There is a mnemonic used to explain grace: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. We see today how Jesus Christ makes just grace available for you and me.


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Proverbs 17:15-24

The vital importance of justice

In numerous countries of the world, the guilty get away and often the prisons are full of innocent people, many of whom have never even been tried or convicted. ‘Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent – the Lord detests them both’ (v.15). Both are terrible forms of injustice. They are abhorrent to God and have a damaging impact on society.
A great deal of the problem is caused by bribery. ‘The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice’ (v.23). One lawyer in a developing country told me that if you want a case to get to court faster than the usual approximately ten-year delay, you have to ‘oil the wheels’; a euphemism for bribery.
The struggle for justice is a serious responsibility. It requires hard work and could easily lead to burnout. The book of Proverbs is full of balanced wisdom.
It reminds us of the need for family and friends: ‘Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble’ (v.17, MSG). Do all you can to avoid petty arguments. ‘The one who loves a quarrel loves sin’ (v.19). Unnecessary quarrelling can separate families and even close friends.
As well as family and friends, fun is important: ‘A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired’ (v.22, MSG). Don’t take yourself too seriously. We need to laugh at ourselves. Laughter is like an internal workout. It exercises your soul and keeps it healthy.

Lord, show us what you want us to do as individuals and as a church to make justice available to all. Help us to keep balance in our lives, taking our responsibilities seriously and still finding a place for family, friends and fun.



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Amos 8:1-9:15

The God of justice and grace

Amos again speaks out against injustice:
‘Listen to this, you who walk all over the weak,
you who treat poor people as less than nothing,
Who say, “When’s my next paycheck coming
so I can go out and live it up?
How long till the weekend
when I can go out and have a good time?”
Who give little and take much,
and never do an honest day’s work.
You exploit the poor, using them –
and then, when they’re used up, you discard them’ (8:4–6, MSG).
The condition of the people was not unlike the condition of the people that we see in our society today. People are dying of spiritual hunger. There is ‘a famine of hearing the words of the Lord’ (v.11). People are searching – they try drugs, alcohol, sex, or power. All this is an attempt to satisfy that deep hunger, but they do not find spiritual food (v.12).
The intention of the covenant law was to protect the disadvantaged. But, as is often the case today, the poor were not receiving justice. They were being trampled upon. They were being cheated. The Lord hates dishonesty because he loves us and he loves the poor. Injustice and dishonesty were at the heart of Israel’s sins. As a result of all this Amos says, ‘Judgment Day is coming!’ (v.11, MSG). Israel will be driven into exile (9:1–10).
Yet, the book of Amos does not end on this note. It ends with the promise of restoration: ‘I will restore David’s house that has fallen to pieces... Everything will be happening at once – and everywhere you look, blessings! Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills. I’ll make everything right again for my people Israel:

They’ll rebuild their ruined cities.
They’ll plant vineyards and drink good wine.
They’ll work their gardens and eat fresh vegetables.
And I’ll plant them, plant them on their own land.
They’ll never again be uprooted from the land I’ve given them’ (vv.11–15, MSG).
The ultimate future of God’s people is beyond your wildest dreams. Even sin and injustice cannot ultimately derail God’s plans of blessing. It is the same dynamic as we saw in our New Testament passage. God’s grace and mercy far outweigh our sins. Jesus ultimately makes it possible for both justice and forgiveness to go hand in hand.

Thank you, Lord, that you are a God of justice and of grace. Thank you that through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit we see an in-breaking of that future now. May justice triumph. May the new wine of your Holy Spirit and a great outpouring of grace drip from the mountains.

Pippa Adds

Romans 5:20b
‘Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.’
The Message translates this ‘but sin didn’t, and doesn’t have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace.’ I think that is why in prisons we often find so much faith and love; and transformed lives. The darker it is, the brighter the light shines.



Verse of the Day

‘A friend loves at all times…’ (Proverbs 17:17a).


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