Practicing Justice
I'll be writing more about this book later, but I wanted to share a passage from Julie Clawson's new book Everyday Justice (IVP, 2009). It speaks to the core of what justice means:
Justice isn't just something someone else engages in. Justice is something that involves each one of us. It is, in fact, a question of how we live our daily lives. The question then is -- what does this require of us?
The true practice of justice thus moves away from retribution (punishment) and toward restoration. We restore broken relationships, we restore families torn asunder, and we even restore damaged land so that life may survive and flourish. To live justly in our own lives means living so that this restoration can happen. Justice, understood as exclusively in terms of punishment, involves tearing people down, but justice, understood as righteousness and restoration, results in helping people rebuild -- both perpetrators and victims. (p. 23)
Justice isn't just something someone else engages in. Justice is something that involves each one of us. It is, in fact, a question of how we live our daily lives. The question then is -- what does this require of us?
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