A black American, Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years of his life on death row. He was arrested and charged for a two-count first-degree murder. He tried to protest his innocence to the detective who arrested him. Surprisingly, the officer said that he didn’t care whether he shot the victim or not, but he was going to make sure he was convicted. He went to provide several reasons why he would be convicted. From the officer who arrested him to the man who would testify against him to the judge and the jury, all were white. To worsen his case, he was a black man without resources to fight in the case. The judge indeed pronounced him guilty. However, new evidence emerged about the case, a retrial took place, and he was set free after 30 years.

In God’s kingdom, everybody will have the due reward for their actions. The guilty will not go scot-free, and the innocent will not be wrongly punished. It is a kingdom where righteousness holds sway.

How did he make it through those years? The lessons his mama taught him, part of which was “I never raised you to be a quitter”. Why was he not bitter? He answered that “bitterness kills the soul”. He is of the opinion that the fact that someone did you wrong doesn’t make it right to do them wrong. Several lessons are apparent from this story. There is no perfect system on earth. America with all its lofty ideals is bedevilled  with much travesty of justice. With all of its avowed commitment to civil liberties, many people of colour have suffered unduly. That brings us to our text. In God’s kingdom, everybody will have the due reward for their actions. The guilty will not go scot-free, and the innocent will not be wrongly punished. It is a kingdom where righteousness holds sway.