A Belief of Basic Fairness

Injustices abound. Look to the News and it is there. Investigate the workplace and it is there too. Pry further again into ‘the family’ and it is there also.

Injustices occur all around us, perhaps as an abnormal sign of an otherwise normal life. If things were suddenly completely fair in and about life, and life were to become predictable, we’d probably miss the interest and passion generated simply because of the unbalanced nature of the world we live in.

Still, it has to be said that most, if not all, of us struggle with the concepts of justice and injustice, particularly as it pertains to both our personal lots and our sense of social or societal justice.

Resentment Doesn’t Pay

Notwithstanding the above, it never seems to pay for us to dwell on these injustices.

The only exception to this is if we make those injustices the catalyst for action, but we must always bear in mind that a concern for justice is not the same as a capacity to impact justice—so far as action is concerned.

A concern that we can’t influence will only frustrate, overwhelm and inevitably fatigue us.

A Better Basic Belief

We all develop beliefs as we funnel through which to live life. Many of these are quite hard-wired, particularly those that have a tinge of moral virtue about them, and our beliefs always seem to distil into this realm.

It can be seen, hence, that justice and injustice get high billing.

But what we might often forget is how influential we are over our beliefs. Despite what some might think, we can shape them. We don’t have to continue accepting our false beliefs, for instance.

Having a basic belief that most things are inherently fair will do strange things for our perception. We’ll start to see issues from a more holistic viewpoint because we’re seeking not only the highly visible injustice view, but also the justice view too.

It’s the balanced view we’re after.

We may well find, too, that this view is blessed of God as far as we’re personally concerned. Perhaps we become, as a result, less tense about our world and less estranged to the meaning of life, and certainly less confused and unsafely vulnerable.

This means in quick terms, peace.

Looking for the Justice in the Injustice

This new way of seeing things—based from the belief in an overall basic fairness—means whilst we’re still not blind to the injustices that do occur, we’re always looking for the justice in the injustice. It is always there, even as people respond proactively.

If we’re normally blinkered to the injustice only, our spiritual part-blindness stifles these situations, and certainly ourselves as we stumble before peace.

Instead of ‘flashing off’ in our anger at the injustices—losing control emotionally in the process—we have a noble reserve of bearing that facilitates the fuller and more truthful view.

The truth, like wisdom, always tends to lag, and it is a great blessing to know this and to live this faithful way, holding out patiently for truth. And the truth is the world’s not as unjust as we’d often be inclined to think it is.

Justice is balance.

© 2010 S. J. Wickham.