Justice vs Morality

(Proverbs 29:4 KJV)  The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.

I look at these two words, “king” (4428) and “justice” (4941).  In our modern, secular republic we are forced to struggle with how those words apply to us.  We don’t have kings in America.  The closest we come is the president.  With the exception of the Clintons we had a long run of men who seemed above reproach in their personal lives.  Then we get Donald Trump who has a lot of baggage.  Yet when it comes to applying the law he seems to be coming closer to justice than his predecessors. 

It is possible that justice is not the same as morality.  In my mind they are, but my knee jerk definition of morality has to do with things like adultery, dishonest business dealings and deceit.  Justice is much bigger and at times might ignore the basics of morality.  Thus a judge will decide a case based on the facts at hand rather than the personal failures of the litigants.  You may not like the innocent party but he may have justice on his side.

So?  Life isn’t always simple.  We need to keep our brains engaged and our spirits humble.  The Holy Spirit seems to need to work overtime these days.  Good thing He is God.