By Susan Wordal
I hear the word “justice” a lot in my work. I also hear it a lot in the public dialog. But I find the word means different things to different people. And, it has different definitions in a dictionary or among dictionaries. All of these are applicable, but it’s interesting to see what is the first definition in a dictionary. For example:
Justice: the process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals-Miriam-Webster
Just behavior or treatment-Oxford Languages
The quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness-Dictionary.com
Now, in my world, as a former City Prosecutor, the Miriam-Webster definition strikes a chord with me. My job was to see that those who committed a crime were held to account for that crime. Notice I don’t say, those who are accused of a crime, because not all those accused actually committed a crime. The law is supposed to be written to provide us with the guidelines by which we live. If someone crosses the line, that person might be said to commit a crime.
As an attorney, the first part of that definition, ending with “fairly judge” also strikes a chord with me. Because whether we are dealing with crimes or with property disputes or other matters, the law is supposed to provide us with guidelines by which we live, by which we determine disputes, and for which we can turn when there is a question.
But history has taught us that our laws are subject to human failing. Some laws are written from a biased perspective and, over time, we come to see the error of that bias and we correct it. Some of the laws we have find their basis in the 10 Commandments and most people would say, “I agree with that one” about a few:
• Thou shalt not kill
• Thou shalt not steal
• Thou shalt not bear false witness (lie)
Interesting that out of 10 Commandments, there are only 3 secular items I can pull out of them which are likely to get more or less universal agreement. I don’t include coveting your neighbor’s goods because, frankly, we can want what our neighbor has without actually stealing it from them, and stealing is already covered, so I left the coveting out. That one is between the person and God. So is taking the Lord’s name in vain, honoring your parents, and observing the sabbath. I’m not even going to get into coveting your neighbor’s wife! That’s a whole other discussion.
So, if laws are not always a good guide, and things change over time, how are we, as good Christians, or as good members of a just society (if we take religion out of the equation) supposed to know what is or isn’t acceptable.
I think the clue is a combination of the above definitions. While the laws might not be perfect, generally there is a theme to them. It centers around not killing or causing physical injury, not stealing and not lying. But Justice, and being just, is also about observing something we’ve said to our kids for years: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Sounds a lot like something Jesus said: “Love your neighbors as yourself”. Justice is holding others to the standard to which we would hold ourselves. We can’t dictate what is morally right. We’ve tried and it doesn’t work. But we can put ourselves in a particular set of shoes and can ask ourselves: How would I like it if this was me? If the answer is: Not very much. Then very likely that isn’t something we should put into law.
History has shown us that judging another by their gender is not right. Took us WAY too much time to figure that one out, but we eventually started to get it. We’re still working on it, but then, nobody is perfect. Judging another by their skin color isn’t right, either. And again, it took us W-A-A-Y too much time to figure that one out, but we’re starting to get it. Same goes for sexual orientation, nationality, and many other things.
So, the next time you hear the word “justice”, you might want to consider what it means generally and what it means to you personally. If you feel like you are hearing your grandmother in your ear with that refrain, “Do unto others…”, that might just give you a clue.
May wisdom guide us and justice be a measure of who we are.