What on Earth is Happening - Social Justice

The number of children involved in sport is falling. Recently six sporting codes agreed the reason was that there is too much emphasis on winning. Maybe it's by pushy parents but I also think kids know that games tend to be based on points and someone has to win. Just imagine if my grandson’s hockey team won 6 to 2, but the organisers then equalled out the score to 4 each so the losing team did not feel sad or oppressed. This point redistribution might cover up the fact that one team didn't practice or put any personal effort into the game but, if that was the case, losing as a team was inevitable and what it should do is motivate them to practice more next week. If they tried hard and still lost, it only points out that teamwork is a skill to be learned or that children’s skill levels cannot all be equal. That is the way life has been forever! And point redistribution would be an injustice!

The idea of social justice has come to mean “putting things right in society,” and campaigners work on a variety of issues like ageism, gender wage gap, girls being kept from education, world hunger and global health outcomes etc. Some Christians think we should just preach the Gospel rather than engage in social justice issues, but other believers feel that social justice was the centre of all that Jesus did. The problem is always that people have different definitions of social justice.
A biblical description of social justice is found in Micah 6:8 ..And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
To Do Justice:
Justice means “rendering impartially and proportionally to every one his due.” Aristotle wrote, “the formal principle of justice is that equals should be treated equally and that unequal’s should be treated unequally”. So, if a man and a woman are working for the same company, with the same training, the same experience, the same diligence and work the same hours etc they should be paid the same; that is justice. If anyone of these factors change (i.e. less hours or less skill), to be paid the same would be an injustice. If an able-bodied person down the road was offered the job and refused to work, preferring to play video games, but still receive a similar “universal wage” that would be an injustice.
The biggest challenge, to treating equals equally, is knowing whether they are indeed equal. The criteria for judging whether two people are equals can never be based on eye colour, race, gender, wealth or social position, for none of that matters in true justice. Rather, the criteria of “equalness” is based on merit, behaviour, achievement, need and the effort they put in, and every case must be judged individually.
Justice is essential, whether it's Commercial justice (people actually getting a quarter pound of meat in their burger), Civil justice (where the guilt or innocence of people is truly determined), and Distributive Justice (where the benefits and burdens are equally shared by those responsible or affected).

Since the late 1800s, there is a new brand of distributive justice called Social justice which is mostly about distributing wealth on a national scale (Socialism). For the reasons of criteria above, it's impossible to provide justice by national legislation or social engineering because everybody's personal situation is different. Justice means that people should have equal opportunity to learn and to earn, but the government is not responsible to ensure that the outcomes for everyone will be equal. Everyone is free to decide how they will spend their income, how much they will save, and where they will live. The effects of their own education and economic decisions is something everyone has to live with. If they forgo spending in their youth, they will have more money later in life but if they spend all their income when they are young, they will pay a financial price later in life.
Generally, the Bible teaches individual responsibility where people work to meet their own needs and the needs of those they love, in fact, the Bible condemns laziness. Jesus told a parable about three men given the same amount of money by their boss. All three showed different levels of diligence and the boss commended the man who increased the boss’s money the most and gave him even more. A distinctly un-socialist concept.

Love Mercy:
But Jesus also told another parable of the Good Samaritan who showed voluntary mercy to a stranger just because he was in need. The early Church showed mercy, meeting the needs of the widows, orphans and poor among them with voluntary gifts (Acts 2:42–47). Showing mercy to those infirmed or unable to work is giving them what they are due just because they are fellow human beings. The Salvation Army in New Zealand has a saying “Justice in society and between societies”. This means seeking to end things like hunger, trafficking, and child abuse in our society and it also means showing mercy to those in other nations who are short of food, water and health resources. Charities like World Vision should be supported, and missions can be more than reaching souls. Mercy is often more important than justice. Instead of receiving Gods just judgment (for our rebellion) we can all be glad we were shown undeserved mercy.
Walk Humbly with Your God:
Finally, social justice is not achieved by walking with Karl Marx but with Jesus. The justice He wants cannot be provided by any person or government and it is always more than economic and social justice. He came to bring freedom from all forms of mental, emotional, religious, and spiritual oppression. His greatest victory was not feeding the 5000 but delivering millions from Satan’s power. Jesus' miracles were not a protest against injustice in human society but a demonstration of the power and provision of His heavenly Society. What He did do was offer hope, not only to the poor but also to the rich, because even people with wealth and status still commit suicide. He preached against life draining religions that offered false hope. He loved everyone because being disadvantaged was not the prerequisite for His love. He was moved even by the hunger of people after a 3-day conference, not just those with malnutrition. He never promoted a social justice where everyone has the same outcome in this life. This is the fantasy of those seeking a Marxist utopia. People with no hope of a just eternity will always think it right to even out the available treasures and pleasures of earth. But Gods accounts are not made up on the 20th of the month. The first now may be last in Gods kingdom and vice versa. Let us just be sure we are in His kingdom.

As disciples, we are to do justice, show mercy, and walk humbly with our God. We can start by making sure we “give the full quarter-pound” to our customers and by not passing by the neighbour in need on the other side of the street. Some people are capable and called to make a big difference to a lot of people in society, the rest of us are called to make a difference to a few. We do not need to look for great things to do but to do some small things with great mercy.