Cry Justice
Justice matters, including justice toward those who are poor. This is not a liberal or conservative position, justice for the poor is fundamental to Christianity.
Why?
No Christian can take the Bible seriously yet ignore injustice. We have a duty to alleviate human suffering. A summer spent reading the book of Habakkuk reminded me that there are few Bible books, no matter how short, that do not urge justice for those in need.
Justice is the goal.
No Utopianism, but Seek Justice
Seeking justice will not lead to a Utopia in this life. We might live better, on the whole, but most actions have unintended consequences in addition to what we plan. Movements that have tried to bring heaven to earth generally bring on a special hell.
Why?
“Mistakes are made” such as starving millions of Ukrainians or plunging millions into dire poverty, but these are “understandable” because the new day is coming. “Outside forces” are always blamed for problems too obvious to hide whether in the Utopian atheist regime or the Utopian theistic commune. The very goodness of the long term goal makes all the pain and suffering seem justifiable. This might be true if the good goal ever came or could be shown with certainty to be coming as a result of “sacrifice.”
The goodness remains distant and the evils always increase. For God, the ends might justify the means, because God is certain of the ends and the means, but for humans, our ignorance is too great, our power too limited, and our ability to deceive even ourselves too tempting.
Christians reject Utopianism this side of paradise. However, as Scripture shows, this does not mean giving up on incremental improvements. With care, a Christian chips away at social injustice with a focus on the individual. Feel this child, educate this college student, repeal this loathsome policy or law. We act seek justice, but with the humility of humans who know that great evils can be justified in a good cause.
Reject Utopianism, seek better. In politics, do not let the dangers of the best be the enemy of the better.
Justice with Prudence, Prudence with Courage
Injustice is morally wrong and we should stop being unjust ourselves immediately, if we can. We can ask the Holy Spirit to show us where to help with the general rule being “our neighbor.” A good rule of thumb: are we doing anything? I have friends that work in pro-life causes seeking to end legal abortion of unborn children and supporting those in crisis pregnancies. Some friends help families move out of poverty. Others adopt and care for high risk children. Some work in racial reconciliation while others focus on helping prisoners or substance abusers.
These are all good and each of us can do something: the goal is justice. Because of the dangers of doing more harm than good, we pick our causes carefully. This is the virtue of prudence: knowing how to do something well. The prudent person does not do too much, that might cause a revolution, or too little which continues injustice. We have turned “prudence” into another term for “do-nothing” and just as justice can be an excuse for an excess, so prudence can be an excuse to do too little.
Oddly, this is not real prudence. Justice is the goal and any virtuous person wishes to reach that goal as fast as possible. The pace of change, when justice has been identified, must be as fast as can be. The main harm to minimize is harm to those being treated unjustly! One way to know if a decision to “go slow” is prudent and not just cowardice is to see if there is a date certain when the injustice will be gone.
Think of segregation in the United States. Many so-called prudent people wanted segregation to end, but the evil kept going decade after decade. Any plan that allows a major injustice to continue for a lifetime was not prudent, it was not plan at all. Was there a plan to end segregation in the next twenty years? Or was there merely a promissory note (again!) to do something, sometime, somehow with a few token concessions to justice. Martin Luther King Jr rightly called out those who hid behind moderation to avoid peaceful, non-violent protest that was working.
Prudence reaches justice as fast as can be, by the best means available. Christians can disagree about those means. I think history shows that smaller government and economic liberty are (generally) best solutions. However, sometimes government help is necessary: see the Civil Rights Act. Occasionally the free market cannot correct a problem fast enough to keep many from being harmed: regulation of work place safety. How much government before the economy is stifled? What is the balance of law and liberty?
The minimum wage is a good example of an area where Christians can disagree. Nobody should begrudge a worker her due, but sometimes government “helps” workers and costs those workers a job. Will a higher minimum wage help more than it harms? My understanding of the data says “no.” I am sure others, perhaps more knowledgeable than I am would argue the opposite. As a voter, I will listen knowing that a “just wage” is hard to set, often harmful to employment when set, and does not have to come from the government. Perhaps I should, in my own work, strive to pay my lowest paid employees more, not look to the government to make me.
What is most prudent? Is a minimum wage a good tool for justice? If so, what should it be?
So it goes:
Christians use practical wisdom to seek justice using courage and prudence.
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