Why Do We Crave Justice?
Should Christians believe in social justice? How do we have God's view of justice and not our own? There are three steps we can take.
This week, my wife Janan is in Ireland, getting some much-needed R&R. Our iPhone storage accounts are linked, so I get regular updates on all the places she's visiting– like this one in The Book of Kells.
In the meantime, I’m holding down the fort at home with our four kids. And the more time I spend with them, the more I notice how each of them holds a very high view of justice.
“Dad, she did that on purpose!” “That’s mine!” “Did you hear what he said?”
Of course, as adults, we carry this same sense of justice—sometimes to a surprising degree. When someone makes an incorrect statement (even if it’s just a bit inaccurate), we can’t wait to correct them. If someone infringes on “our rights,” something in us says we need to complain to a friend. And if we sense that someone took advantage of us in the most minor ways, we struggle to let it go.
While there is certainly a downside to overzealous justice, there is also something deeply human about it. It’s something our souls crave.
True Biblical Justice
In Philippians 4:8, Paul says, “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy — dwell on these things.”
G. Walter Hansen writes, “Paul’s list of eight virtues bears a striking resemblance to lists of virtues in Greek literature.”[1] “It is almost as if he had taken a current list from a textbook of ethical instructions, and made it his own.”[2] But in doing so, he’s showing how to view these through the lens of Jesus.
By “just,” Paul is pointing to a life that reflects God’s character and that which is upright, consistent with truth, and committed to doing what is right regardless of cost or consequence. To dwell on what is just is to orient our hearts toward what is morally right in God’s sight.
It’s to know him so well that our desires for justice are not birthed out of self-preservation but out of genuine love for others. Of course, this is a great challenge for our built-in depraved state tends to seek justice that is in our favor, not in the favor of others. It’s a bit like voting.
I can’t remember a time when I’ve ever met a person who has told me, “Ezra, I voted for [insert candidate] not for what they could do for me, but because of what I thought they could do for the greater good of my community or nation.” No, we vote for candidates who can make us richer, share our values, and will better our communities. And we naturally look at justice the same way.
This is why we so desperately need Christ’s perspective.
So, How Do We Dwell on What Is Just?
Here are three suggestions.
