It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the righteous of justice.
Equal protection law is a major part of modern America’s government. These two words from the Fourteenth Amendment have been interpreted by the courts to require undifferentiated treatment of an ever-expanding cadre of ‘suspect classes’, lines of differentiation that the state must take particular care not to notice or to notice ‘affirmatively’ (except when a ‘compelling state interest’ intervenes, because principles are for people without power). We all recognize that ‘equal protection’ is on some level integral to justice. A perfectly just lawgiver and judge protects everybody equally, without caring about irrelevancies. The question which we must ask, which the West often tries to obscure, is, ‘What is irrelevant, and what is relevant?’
Justice, we all recognize, is proportional. If your kid stole another kid’s toy train, the punishment should be suited to the sin: restore the toy taken and suffer some small retribution for trespassing parental authority. No parent worth the name would respond to the petty sin with capital punishment, by killing the child. Justice is a matter of giving to a man what he deserves (Lev. 24:20), to the extent that we are the proper giver. If a man pays me the prescribed fee for an ice-cream cone at my hypothetical stand, justice is to give him the ice cream cone; if that same man were to steal five dollars, justice is to require restitution from him (Ex. 22).
What makes a factor relevant to justice, then, is whether it affects what the person deserves. Scripture, thankfully, provides us with guidance as to what this is: “The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother” (Deut. 19:18-19). While this command is directed towards perjurers, Deuteronomy 19:21 and Leviticus 24:20, and Exodus 21:23-25 all justify extending the principle to general application. What a man does and what he intends to do (insofar as can be proven to the judge (Deut. 17:6)) are what matters for justice.
Here we must recognize two facts. First, while the parts of a person’s life which aren’t action or intent-to-act are not directly relevant, they can have bearing upon action. So paralysis isn’t relevant in itself, but a paralytic’s inaction when a man choked is justified by his paralytic inability to move. Similarly, ‘equal protection’ on gender grounds, ignoring the difference between a man and a woman, is in fact unjust, because those differences are often relevant to the nature of their actions. Demanding ‘equal treatment’ in sports, for instance, is demanding an injustice, if by that we mean that men and women are to be treated identically. Different natures require different treatments.
Second, on this ground ‘equal protection’ which ignores differences in behavior is unjust (unless the actions can be shown to be morally equivalent or of negligible morality). Is it justice to treat a murderer and a non-murderer identically? Should the conman and the honest businessman receive ‘equal’ treatment? Well, it depends on what we mean by ‘identical’ or ‘equal.’ Justice is equal, but it is not blind. The murderer must receive different treatment because he acted differently; the standard is the same (both the murderer and the innocent man are treated in proportion to their actions), but the outcome is different.
Do not take this to be a merely legal discussion. While I’ve adopted the language of American constitutional law to introduce the idea, justice (and the idea of ‘equal’ treatment inherent to it) is a matter for every one of us, every day, everywhere. My every choice in relationship with God and my fellow man (and well as myself) is a choice of justice or injustice. I can do right, or I can do wrong. Understanding the standard God gives us is therefore crucial for everyone, not just lawyers or politicians.
But hasn’t God removed this standard? Matthew 5 seems to bear Christ’s abrogation of it: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you: Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (v38-39). This statement, however, does not contradict the principles of the law I’ve just described; Christ stated only a few verses earlier that He did not ‘come to abolish the Law… but to fulfil it” (v17). This statement is not modifying justice; it is prescribing wisdom.
This verse is in harmony with Proverbs 18:5’s command to give just reward to the righteous. The first part of Proverbs 18:5, in fact, gives us the key to understand Christ’s statement. As we know, God is righteous (Ps. 7:9). His righteousness, therefore, includes that He does not give partiality “to the wicked.” This assurance heard, we must recognize that every wrong done to us will receive justice in time; it is merely the part of wisdom and humility to leave retribution in God’s hands. Matthew 5:39 is an injunction to wait for God’s justice, not an institution of injustice.
In time, all men will receive equal treatment at God’s hands. To each man will be given justice. To the wicked, judgement will accrue; to those whose sin God has born already (Is. 53:12), He will give what His own blood deserves (Rom. 6:1-5): healing and eternal life (Is. 58:6-14). Thus Malachi states, “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble…. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings” (4:1-2). It was for this purpose that Moses gave the law to prepare us, and for this purpose that Elijah came to herald the Lord, the Christ whose day has come and will come in full (Mal. 4:4-6; Mark 9:2-13).
God bless.
Written by Colson Potter
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
