Misunderstanding social justice

Sometimes it is possible for us to have only a vague understanding of certain concepts because we have generally heard about them but we have not studied them or thought about them deeply. But because we imagine we understand them, we may apply them wrongly. One such concept is social justice. This has received unusual attention in these modern days. According to a definition, social justice is the concept of a fair and equitable society where all individuals have equal access to rights, resources, opportunities, and privileges, regardless of their background. It involves eliminating discrimination and inequality, promoting human rights, and ensuring everyone can reach their full potential. On the surface it appears right and so much needed in the presence of so much of ongoing discrimination, that it is no wonder many people accept it without question.

Another way of putting this is to say that there must be no discrimination among people on the basis of any criterion. This way of looking at it prompts many people to take action, hoping to eliminate discrimination that goes on in many areas. And that is where many people go off to extremes, while imagining that they are taking up a good cause. But think a little more, and we can see that how unrealistic this limited understanding is, and how it leads to extremes.

The real world is is a mixture of real differences among people that are there by design, and other differences that have resulted from ignorance, misunderstanding, oppression, exploitation, customs, traditions, etc. For example, the differences between male and female are there by God's design, enabling each of them to carry out certain tasks efficiently by themselves, and requiring them to lean on each other for other tasks (Ge.1:27). There are certain things one gender can do that the other cannot do. Why God brought them together was that they could complement each other, and together they could work in synergy and accomplish more together than any of them could have done individually. When we look at it this way, it becomes obvious that all the fight about becoming equal, obliterating the differences of gender and claiming that both can do whatever the other can do is ridiculous.

On the other hand, there are groups of people who are being discriminated against by others purposefully or as a result of ignorance, who need to be rescued. Women and children who are being exploited by men is an outstanding example of this. There are many others who are unevenly placed in life due to lack of opportunity for education, medical treatment, jobs, etc., for example.

God's justice is about right and wrong, and accordingly, those who do right must be rewarded and those who do wrong must be punished. But if we mistakenly try to uphold people's 'right' to do what they choose, even when what they do is wickedness, we will be misusing the term, social justice. Examples are homosexual and transgender 'rights'.