No one seems to know what justice means anymore. “No justice; no peace!” protesters shout, as they hold signs calling for the end of the police departments. We hear a lot about “Social Justice” and “Racial Justice” these days, but what do people mean by those terms? In many cases, covetous and greedy men hijack the term “justice” to exploit those who have worked hard and saved their money. Many today seem to think that if someone has more money than he “needs,” then he should (a moral term) give his extra money to those who are less-well-off. This, they say, would be just and fair.
We are told it’s not fair to the poorer people around us if we have more money than they. Seizing upon “Social Justice,” they lobby for the government to appropriate their neighbor’s wealth and redistribute it to those who have less. Justice, they say, will have been served.
I came across this helpful verse not long ago in my daily readings—
You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.
Exodus 23.2-3
Here God gives a simple instruction with two main thoughts:
- Don’t side with the crowd when you know it’s not right
- Don’t be partial to a man simply because he’s poor
Humans often fall into these categories. It is so easy to be swept along with the crowd, like the Jews who chanted, “Crucify! Crucify!” People fall to peer pressure everywhere and all the time. When we know we’ll be cheered if we say the popular thing, and when we know we’ll be ridiculed if we say the unpopular thing, we often seek to avoid trouble.
The second thought surprised me: “you shall not be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.” Why say this? Is it not usually the rich who run rough-shod over the poor? Isn’t the main issue that poor people have less power, so shouldn’t we be standing up strongly for justice for the poor? Of course, we should stand for the poor man—if he is innocent and if his case demands justice. But what if the poor man is guilty? Do we let him off the hook because of his economic status? God says we are never to overlook evil, no matter the wealth or poverty of the individual!
The sin of partiality does not depend upon the situation. We don’t get to be partial to one while being impartial to others. God does not show partiality (Deut. 10.17; Rom. 2.11), and neither should His people. James wrote, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2.1). He continued to describe a man who comes into the assembly with fine apparel and gold-ringed fingers and another who comes in with shabby clothes. It’s a flat-out sin to give more respect to the first than to the second just because of his appearance and societal status.
Likewise, it is a sin to show partiality to the poor man over the rich. A poor person may say, “It’s not fair that I am poor and my neighbors rich. The government should take away their riches and give some to me so I can have justice.” We might reply, “It would surely be kind and gracious for them to give of their riches to help you in your poverty, but is it just to demand they support you just because they have more than you?” Is the poor man due the rich man’s wealth?
We hear the term “reparations” as a concept of justice. But are those demanding reparations actually due payment? Those judges and courts who decide these cases should carefully examine each situation. The poor man demands money from those who have more. Why should the rich man give his wealth to the poor? Certainly he could show charity and good will by supporting the poor of his community, but is it just to force the rich man to give his money to someone he has never harmed? Is it just to give a poor man someone else’s money?
“…nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.”
Let us not run with the world, side with the many, or follow the crowd in the way they define justice, but let us closely examine what God says and follow that. The government may well decide to take away wealth from those who have worked for it and reallocate that money to those who have not worked for it. If it does, we can still stand for God’s definition of justice. It won’t be easy because we’ll be swimming against the current, but that’s the way it is for the people of God! We are counter-cultural. We stand against the crowd. We don’t show partiality to rich or poor. We take the narrow road that leads to life!