The policeman waved his orange baton, commanding the offending car to pull over. It was only a minor traffic infraction.

Through an alcohol haze, the drunk man behind the wheel could just make out the familiar blue uniform of the officer and the dreaded baton. Oh no! Fear gripped his heart. If he stopped, he would be fined not only for the traffic infraction but for being drunk, too! No, he wasn’t going to pay! In a delirium of panic, he careened around the barrier that divided the road and fled at top speed straight into oncoming traffic. The streets were busy as usual in the capital city—motorcycles, tuk-tuks, bicycles, vendors, beggars, dogs, children. The man ran his vehicle headlong into several motorcycles before he came to a crashing halt. Mangled motorcycles, wounded people and bodies marked his route.

People appeared out of every alley and doorway, and they were furious! Some of them ran to the crumpled car and yanked the injured drunk man out. They began to beat him mercilessly. More and more men gathered around him, and everyone was taking his turn. Some other men attempted to set the drunk man’s car on fire, all while the wounded lay waiting for help. Just then, the police arrived and dispersed the angry mob, taking the now almost-dead drunk driver into custody.

“Did the people who were beating the man get arrested, too?” I asked my language teacher the next morning.

“Funny you should ask,” she replied. “The lesson we will be reading today is about the law of the jungle. In our country, if you don’t have money, you can’t get justice. If you have a lot of money, you will win. The authorities only help if they get enough bribe money. If poor people are wronged, stolen from or have family members killed or kidnapped, they have to take the law into their own hands, and they are not punished for doing so. For example, if someone steals your purse or your motorcycle, and you can catch him, you can beat him to death. If he sneaks into your house at night to rob you, you can kill them for that, too. If there are police around, they will interrupt the beating and take the offender into custody. But if the offender has lots of money or powerful connections, he will be out of jail within an hour or two. The crazy thing is that 80 percent of the thieves, rapists, drug dealers and drug addicts belong to gangs of young men who come from wealthy families or families of government officials. When they commit crimes, they get off very lightly.”

Wow! As a Westerner, it is hard for me to fathom such injustice. People here are dissatisfied and agitated. They want change and equality. But change is easier talked about than done. Added to the many other problems people here face, this magnifies our realization that we cannot rescue anyone from this corrupt system in which they must function. But fortunately that isn’t why we are here. We are here to introduce people to a mighty and loving God who will someday make all wrongs right. Someday He will wipe away all tears, and the downtrodden will be honored as children of the King. He will place crowns on their heads with His own hands. They will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

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