The concept of justice is bandied about a lot these days, mostly in the context of discussions about various perceived injustices in the world. That said, the way it is typically dealt with in modern society defines justice in a particular way – typically relating it to the problems associated with various aggrieved groups. This is not to say that injustice does not exist and should not be addressed. In fact, when injustice exists it should be dealt with.
A few years ago at Oxford University in England, an event was planned to discuss the topic of abortion. This discussion was to be hosted by the pro-life group Oxford Students for Life, and was to be led by two men, Timothy Stanley and Brendan O’Neil.
When a pro-abortion group got wind of the event, they protested loudly asserting that it was inappropriate for men to discuss if and when women should be able to make fundamental decisions about their own bodies. With that, the university canceled the event. Those who opposed it strongly defended the cancellation reasoning that, “The idea that in a free society absolutely everything should be open to debate has a detrimental effect on marginalized groups.” They claimed that abortion is not an “abstract, academic issue,” but one that affects women in a profoundly personal way. One opposition organizer said, “In organizing against this event, I did not stifle free speech. As a student, I asserted that it would make me feel threatened in my own university; as a woman, I objected to men telling me what I should be allowed to do with my own body.” She was asserting that limiting or eliminating abortion was an injustice to all women. While this particular event happened in England, the exact same thing, with the exact same reasoning, is common in the U.S., and in most other Western countries.
Of course, abortion is not the only social justice topic that is in vogue these days. The Black Lives Matter movement, along with the NFL player protests, object to racial inequality in the legal system. The #MeToo movement is active against sexual harassment of women. Other popular social justice topics include income inequality, prison reform, gun ownership, and the list could go on.
The big problem when it comes to dealing with the topic of justice, however, does not relate to the fact that injustices exist. They do, and they should be addressed. Injustice should be eliminated wherever it is found. The problem is not in the need to deal with it, but in how is it dealt with. Those who believe in the approach of the social justice movement are not looking to right injustices as much as they are looking to accomplish their own personal political goals. This approach to dealing with injustice does not cure it, it creates more.
For instance, regarding the abortion story above, allowing abortion does not provide justice for those who want to have an abortion, and eliminating it does not create injustice. In fact, except in the case of rape (which is responsible for only a very tiny fraction of pregnancies), every pregnancy is the result of a purposeful, deliberate action by the women who want the abortion. What is not taken into account (or even allowed to be debated) is the fact that every abortion ends the life of another human being who does not have a voice in the decision. The “justice” that the pro-abortion advocates want is a massive injustice to the innocent child that gets murdered.
The same principle exists with all of the other social justice movements – every one of them. The reason this is so is because the remedies these social justice advocates promote are completely one sided. They take an example of an injustice and generalize it to apply to everyone in a particular aggrieved group. If this principle were allowed to stand, it very well might eliminate the injustice that happens against particular individuals, but it creates its own injustice by tarring people who have not committed any injustice. Individuals cannot be legitimately deemed unjust just because they happen to be a certain race, gender, or belong to some other identifiable group. This approach punishes some people who are not unjust, and allows others who do commit wrongs to get off scot free – all because of some outwardly identifiable trait, characteristic, or belief. That approach does not produce justice.
There is a huge tendency these days to look at injustice through the lens of history. That should not be a problem when one is attempting to diagnose where problems exist. But it can be a huge problem if what happened in history becomes a means of generalizing a problem beyond what happened in history. It becomes a problem when a group is identified that has been historically “oppressed,” and the remedy is designed to favor the descendants of that group at the expense of others. This approach is based on a collectivist worldview philosophy that aims to favor the formerly unfavored group by disfavoring the formerly favored one. The problem is, you can’t fix injustice or history by creating injustice against others. The basis for creating true justice does not lie in a collectivist philosophy.
The only real remedy for injustice is to identify what it is and correct it. It is ultimately based on the rule of law where everyone receives equal justice under the law. This does not mean that those who are responsible for injustice should be allowed to avoid punishment, or that those who were on the wrong side of an injustice should not be appropriately compensated. But it does mean that you can’t dole out punishment to those who are not responsible, and you can’t assign responsibility to people who had nothing to do personally with a given wrong.
There is no doubt that getting to real justice can be a very difficult thing. In fact, there are some very serious problems we face as we try to root out injustice.
The first problem is that history is linear and we can’t go back and undo what was done in history. This means that there are historical injustices that will never be righted in this world.
A second problem is that we are not omniscient, and our limited knowledge and understanding causes us to not see all of the factors that create injustice. The result is that regardless of how hard we try, we will not be able to right all wrongs. This is not a good thing, but is a fact.
There is a third problem that is particularly serious – the problem of our fallenness. Sadly, there are a lot of people who don’t want to fix the places where injustice lies. They gain an advantage from it, and the evil in their hearts compel them to ignore the injustices they see (or are a part of).
Because of these problems, we will never see perfect justice done on this earth. This does not mean we should not try, we absolutely should. What it does mean is that we must recognize our inadequacies and work to overcome them, all the while recognizing what Jesus himself acknowledged – that the poor (“the oppressed”) will always be with us (Mark 14:7).
As Christians, we should always be working to right injustice. But we must also recognize that doing that does not correspond to our most important purpose on earth. The most important purpose is God’s purpose – for all humanity to enter into a personal relationship with him. As such, our chief goal should be to lead people to know a personal relationship with God. Righting injustice must be an “expression” of our Christian faith, not the “goal” of it. If we focus on the purpose, injustices will fall away.
The truth is, ultimately all injustices will be made right. Those who seem to be getting away with wrong will one day stand before the righteous judge and be put in their place. And those who have been wronged will be made whole by the only one who has the ability to create true justice. In an ultimate sense, because of the limitations of our humanness and our fallen human nature, we do not have the ability to right all wrongs. We must do what we can, with the right motives, but only God can ultimately fulfill justice. Our part is to align ourselves with God and see that, to the greatest degree possible, his will is done on earth as it is in heaven. The more that happens, the more we will see true justice prevail.
© 2018 Freddy Davis