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In his early days, Al Capone was a respected father—his goal was to make a living for his family. But he turned to crime and became a mob boss in Chicago. He terrorized a city, beat three of his subordinates to death with a baseball bat, caused the death of many more, and became filthy rich from extensive illegal activity. In 1931, he was convicted of tax evasion and spent eight years in prison. While in prison he worked in the shoe shop, and once said to a cellmate, “I’m supposed to be a big shot, but here I am in prison working in a shoe shop. What kind of a lousy world is this?” Al Capone discovered what the Bible says often happens to people who mistreat and exploit others. God says their day of accountability will come. It may not even come in this life time, but it will come. Knowing God’s decree to punish evildoers led the psalmist to pray for justice on behalf of the mistreated. We read this in Psalm 10, “Arise, O LORD! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless! Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, ‘God will never call us to account.’ But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them… You defend the orphans. Break the arms of these wicked, evil people! Go after them until the last one is destroyed. The LORD is king forever and ever!” So when it looks as if injustice has won, God’s people remind themselves that though the wheels of justice sometimes grind slowly, they grind exceedingly fine. God’s holiness demands it.
