Is Justice Fair?

In our discussion on Faith and Politics (Living Faith’s “How Would Jesus Vote?” series) Sunday evening, we talked about the difference between justice and fairness. When considering Christians’ approach to politics this distinction is very important. Fairness is our idea of equity – what is “right”, what seems to be equitable, what will enable us to be satisfied that everyone has “their share”. It is people-focused. Justice is God’s idea of what is right. In fact in the Bible the main words translated justice are also at other times translated righteousness. The simplest way to define justice or righteousness is quite simply “what God would do”. Justice is from God’s perspective, as the Creator, Sustainer and Owner of the entire Universe. He has a right to do whatever He deems best, and in His perfect wisdom He does not share things out equally, and He does not punish sin the way it should be punished.

My answer to the title question is that justice is not fair. God’s perspective is so much wiser and more “right” than ours, and so the response of justice may not always seem “fair” to us. So what does this have to do with politics? The US Constitution was written more on the basis of fairness than justice. Christians would do well to bear that in mind in our expectations, and in our actions. God calls us to value and seek justice and mercy, which will sometimes disagree with the political process, and the priorities of political parties (all of them!)

In our voting decisions, perhaps we should ask of the candidates and parties whether they have the convictions and the courage to go beyond fairness to God’s justice? The Ten Commandments and, in particular, the summary of the law (love God, love others) give us insights into justice. May they also help us discern what government should do, and who would be best to lead.