One of the hallmarks of the virtue of Justice is the ideal of impartiality: The idea that the decision or outcome in a matter should not depend on who is being judged.  It is the reason why the statue of Lady Justice is blindfolded, while she holds the scales of judgment. 

We wouldn’t call it justice, would we, if we only sent poor people to jail for stealing, or if we said that if you’re friends with the judge, you get to decide your own punishment.

In the Book of Leviticus, God gives explicit instructions to the people of Israel on this very subject, saying: “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”  This is clearly right, as Paul reminds us in Romans that when it comes to judgment, “God [Himself] shows no partiality”—so, neither should we.

But we also must be careful not to fall into the trap of confusing impartiality with indifference—that sort of uncaring detachment that makes justice cold, and callous, and even cruel.  When we’re indifferent, we may treat people equally only because we treat them equally badly.

Remember the ironically named Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, who routinely administers her version of justice by simply declaring “Off with their heads!” every time someone commits an offense?  She’s impartial, in that she imposes her violent whim upon all with equal vigor and brutality—but she doesn’t care one whit about any of them.  I don’t think any of us would want the Queen of Hearts for our teacher—and I doubt we’d be inclined to call her Just.  Something’s missing.

Elie Wiesel, the holocaust survivor who became a Nobel laureate, observed that “The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.”  And so, while it is true that God is an impartial judge we should emulate, we also know from the Apostle John that “God is love.”  True Justice requires both. 

Have a wonderful day.