3 and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit. 6 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
You can’t use the justice system to right a social injustice. If you use the court system to try to right an economic wrong, you simply do another wrong. Justice is the standard. There have been some well publicized cases in this country where the jury gave huge settlements not based on the merits of the case, but on their own anger toward a corporation, as a way to send a message to others who were doing the same things. We can never use the courts to send a message. That is injustice. The Lord’s standard is justice. It makes no difference if you are poor or rich, justice. And as these two verses show, you can’t either show favoritism or deny justice based on economic status. Justice. No external factor should change the verdict. The merits of the case should decide. We have also seen the rich get favorable treatment because they are rich. That is not justice. The rich should get no special treatment compared to the poor. Economic status is not to be a factor in justice. I doubt if this standard will ever happen here on earth. It is too engrained in our system for justice to take place. It is hard to ignore these outward things when dispensing justice. We often place value on success. We think success means God’s blessing, His favor. But those outward things have nothing to do with justice. In fact they get in the way of justice. This is indeed a high standard. So how does this apply to my life? I don’t serve on a jury every day. I’m not part of the justice system. In the coming years it might mean supporting tax measures that tax everyone more fairly, meaning you end up paying slightly higher taxes to provide equity across the system. It might mean giving up some benefit you enjoy so that the rich are not taxed unfairly. The rich deserve justice as well. And so do the poor. Justice is the standard for which we should be striving. It is not fair to take from the rich and give to the poor simply because they are rich. Justice.
The Arnold Journey 