The concept of justice is one that parents may find difficult to explain to their children. Very young ones have a hard time accepting the fact that they don’t always get what they want. They feel like justice is whatever feels good to them at the time! The older a child grows, however, and the more life experiences he has, the more he should be able to comprehend what justice is.
Justice is more than just fairness. Justice involves an all-knowing vision of the whole picture. We can trust our God to be just, even though many people in positions of authority may not always give us justice.
A true Bible story that teaches the principle of justice is found in the New Testament. Jesus met a rich young ruler who was not willing to give up his possessions in order to be a disciple. This prompted Simon Peter to ask, “…Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” Jesus explained that the eternal riches received by those who have chosen to follow Him will far outweigh anything this world could give. As He often did, Jesus used a parable, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, to illustrate this point to the disciples. Jesus told of a man who needed to hire laborers to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a penny for their day’s worth of labor. Throughout the day, the man hired more and more laborers. At the end of the day, he gave each man a penny for his labor, from those who had only worked an hour to those who had worked all day long. This upset those that had worked the entire day. They didn’t think they had received justice! The man reminded them that they had agreed to work for a penny, and it truly was none of their business what the pay of the others was.
Our society desires equality, just as people did in Jesus’ time. We think everything has to be the same for everyone. Unfortunately, as we see in this parable, it often does not work out that way. What caused the laborers to become angry? They assumed that because those who only worked an hour received a penny, this meant they should get more because they worked more. They expected something that was not going to come to pass. Many fall into the trap of expecting something that is not possible or is directly opposite the directions given. We often become upset at the fact that what we want is not what we will receive. Wrong expectations can make life seem unjust. This is a harsh truth but one that boys and girls must understand in life. As you endeavor to be just in your parenting and to explain justice to your children, perhaps this biblical account will be helpful. Remember, only God gives perfect justice. We can trust Him to do what is best for us.
Memory Verse
“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45