Give your love of justice to the king, O God,and righteousness to the king’s son.Help him judge your people in the right way;let the poor always be treated fairly.May the mountains yield prosperity for all,and may the hills be fruitful.Help him to defend the poor,to rescue the children of the needy,and to crush their oppressors.May they fear you as long as the sun shines,as long as the moon remains in the sky.Yes, forever!May the king’s rule be refreshing like spring rain on freshly cut grass,like the showers that water the earth.May all the godly flourish during his reign.May there be abundant prosperity until the moon is no more.[. . .]Praise the LORD God, the God of Israel,who alone does such wonderful things.Praise his glorious name forever!Let the whole earth be filled with his glory.Amen and amen! (Psalm 72:1–7, 18–19 NLT)
Psychologists at the University of Michigan performed a number of tests with children to help them gauge their sense of fairness. In one, they paired two children who did not know each other and gave one a single piece of candy and the other four pieces. They then had one of the children either accept this unfair allocation or reject it. If they rejected it, neither child would get any candy, but if they accepted it, both would receive their treats, but one would get four times as many. Frequently, the decider would choose to reject the unfair allotment and lose out on receiving any candy rather than allow one of them to receive less.
There are certainly times when kids are so focused on getting something they want that they forget about others who might be involved, but the researchers say children “show remarkable sophistication not just in their understanding of and conformity to norms of fairness but also in their ability to enforce fairness in others and to flexibly tune fairness to different situations.”
Kids notice injustice more often than we give them credit for, and they are often willing to speak up when they notice it. Children have eyes unfiltered by years of ignoring “the way things are.”
Kids are often quicker to see the unhoused man living on the street or notice their friend who never comes to school with lunch. Not only that, but they also want to know how to fix the problem.
We all want to live in a society where our leaders have a love of justice and are people of righteousness, but rarely do we. Though we desire leaders who “defend the poor” and “rescue the children of the needy,” all of us still hold responsibility to have eyes that see the injustices around us and do something about them. “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27).
How has your sense of justice been shaped by your experiences as a kid? Do you still have your childlike sense of fairness? Invite the Holy Spirit to give you eyes to see injustices that break his heart and the motivation to follow his lead in acting against them.