Daniel Rose

There’s a picture that I have shared on more than occasion. It is one that I first saw in my children’s school. I really resonated with the point that it was communicating. Check it out…

When I first saw this picture it came with a caption: “Equality is not justice.” I remember thinking, “Yes! Amen!”

Recently, in my research and study on what biblical justice looks like I stumbled on a different picture. This picture is even better:

That last caption describes justice well, in my opinion, “…all three can see the game without any supports or accommodations because the cause of the inequity was addressed. The systemic barrier has been removed.”

I continue to think about and process this statement from the prophet Micah, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8, ESV)” The conclusion that I am coming to is that “to do justice” requires the people of God to not simply create equitable solutions but actively seek to remove the systemic barriers.

My friend Rev. Tyler St. Clair wrote,

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The Church needs to be about helping to create educational, recreational, and economic opportunities in the areas where “the least of these” are most prevalent. This means that we need to enter in with the rural and urban poor and the minority cultures beyond giving them support systems. To “do justice” is to figure out how to remove the barriers that keep people from educational, recreational, and economic opportunities.

We must begin tearing down fences (dare I say walls?). The gospel subverts the systemic barriers of injustice. Let us be a people of grace and truth.

Justice — It’s More Than Equity was originally published in The Rev on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.