The world is consumed with the idea of justice. I count myself among the many in that regard, because I too expect justice.
The common premise that most societies accept is Lex Talionis, otherwise known as an eye for an eye. We understand that when someone commits a crime, they should receive a punishment equal to the offense that was committed. That is what we naturally understand and it is also what we see in the Bible.
There is a problem with this system that will likely always arise and we can see it clearly in the world today. When someone takes my eye, I want to take both eyes from him.
The problem is not that the man would lose an eye for his offense, but that I’ve now committed another crime by taking the extra eye. Taking both eyes is not justice, but is actually a vengeful crime.
So how do we deal with this problem? Do we need to deal with it at all?
It is not enough to suggest that we should simply tolerate all crimes against us. We also cannot require others to be victimized in the name of mercy.
So what can we do? Our founders understood that we need the government to handle this issue.
It is often said that America is a nation of laws. This is certainly true. It was also understood – due to our Christian roots – that vengeance belongs to the Lord and not us. The scripture makes clear that the government exists for the purpose of bringing forth justice; it doesn’t bear the sword for nothing. When we find injustice,we need the government to act justly in bringing forth punishment against the criminal.
This leads us to the last problem, and the one that we should consider in our current times: how do we know what justice is and how do we seek to apply it equally?
I propose that if we do not understand the concept that we were all made in the image of God, that we will never bring justice properly. If we are all made in the image of God, then we all deserve the same dignity regardless of our skin color, gender, age, social status, etc.
All people have intrinsic worth and we should show honor to all because of this. This means that we must recognize the rights of the unborn to life, of women against abusers and of chattel slaves against unruly masters. If we were not created by God, then none of us have any claim to equality.
We can clearly see that no one is equal in skill, beauty, or intelligence. There are vast differences between each individual and without the understanding that we are all created with equal dignity, then we cannot expect equal justice for all people.
The American idea is not that we give justice to who we prefer or who scores higher on the intersectionality charts, but that we give liberty and justice to all.
Jeremy Wiggins is a columnist for The Graham Star.