You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
Deuteronomy 16:19 (NKJV)
Which is better, a map or a globe?
Certainly a globe is the more accurate depiction of planet earth, but a map allows us to see the whole thing at a glance. Maps can be used in books or folded and carried around easily, like we used to do with travel maps before GPS. A map is a distorted view, a twisted-out-of-shape view, but it has its advantages. And it also has its drawbacks. If you only ever looked at a world map and not a globe, you might conclude that Alaska and Russia are very far apart.
Sometimes distortion, which literally means to twist out of shape, can be useful, as long as you remember that’s what it is. Twist the thing apart to get a good look at it, or to see it from a different perspective, or maybe to clean it, but then put it back to rights so you have it in its true form again.
Of course some things should never be twisted out of shape. Like Humpty Dumpty, some things cannot be put together again once the original shape is distorted.
One thing we should never twist out of shape is God’s word. Paul told the Galatians that there are some who “want to distort the gospel of Christ,” (Galatians 1:7 NASB). Peter said that “untaught and unstable people twist [the Scriptures] to their own destruction,” (2 Peter 3:16). Serious language indeed, and yet it’s so easy to twist God’s word and not realize it. Our desires, biases, and habits can all get in the way of seeing the truth.
Nor would we want to distort someone else’s view of the gospel by presenting it in a twisted way, by being unloving or hypocritical.
Furthermore the Bible warns us in Deuteronomy 16:19 (NLT) not to twist justice, show partiality, or accept bribes. The same book in 27:19 (NASB) says, “Cursed is one who distorts the justice due a stranger, an orphan, or a widow.”
I like how the HCSB puts Proverbs 28:6. “Better a poor man who lives with integrity than a rich man who distorts right and wrong.”
All of these things hinge on how much we value truth. Do we want to prove our doctrine is right? Do we want our side to win? Do we judge right and wrong by our desires? Sometimes, if it means we come out on top, we will accept “spin” rather than pursue the truth. Then we pervert justice and twist right and wrong without even recognizing it.
Jesus knows what it is like to be the victim of perverted justice. He was crucified by those who were distorting right and wrong.
“When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Matthew 27:29).
You might even say that our sins have twisted our souls until they are broken. “And all the kings horses and all the kings men” couldn’t put them back together again. But thanks be to God, there is a way to repair our souls. The One who “saw my substance, being yet unformed,” and who “fashioned” my days for me, “when as yet there were none of them,” (Psalm 139:16), also predestined His people “to be conformed to the image of His Son,” (Romans 8:29). The One who created me is able to re-form and re-fashion my life.
Human beings are very good at twisting things, breaking them apart, and maybe occasionally we can even find a good reason for doing so. But some things should never be distorted, and yet, we do it anyway. Thankfully God is a master craftsman who specializes in restoration.
But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8
Dear God, if my understanding of Your word is distorted in any way, please change my thinking through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Help me to love truth. I pray that I would never distort justice, but I know that it was against all justice for Jesus to go to the cross because of my sin. Please forgive me and renew me day by day, re-shaping me to look more and more like him. May I never be the cause of anyone having a distorted view of the Christian life. In Jesus name, Amen.
by Christie Cole Atkins
Walk Worthy 