I’m thinking about social justice. I don’t know what everyone expect or wants from social justice, but I think it isn’t as simplistic as what everyone thinks.
I have this idea that I know to be true. If everyone is happy and no one is ever sad, then no one truly knows what it means to be happy. If everyone is special, then no one can truly be special. Taking the thought to it’s extreme, if everyone is treated the same, then no one has individuality. If everyone is treated with respect, then no one really has respect. If everyone has freedom, none of us has freedom. I think somewhere along the line, some people got the idea that if everyone had everything exactly the same, then that would be justice.
If that was true, then God would call all His angels down from Heaven to rule us, He would make us all look and act alike, and He would have never given us free will. Justice isn’t about treating everyone exactly the same, it is about learning to have an appreciation for individuality. And I am coming to realize that means accepting evil in this world. The only way to truly understand goodness is to know evil. I would be able to appreciate all individuals unless there are those people out there that harm others, who spread hate, and who don’t care at all about peace.
It is a difficult lesson to learn and I will struggle with it until my dying day, but I believe that our world isn’t a mistake. God is an all-powerful being who knew exactly what He was doing when He made this world. Every time I see the worst of this worst, I need to be thankful that it lets me appreciate the best of the world as well.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
