Justice vs. Corruption "Taking PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to uphold what is pure, right, and true"   JUSTICE - Character Materials for Children & Families Faith Committee, Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Contributed by Trudy Pettibone Bible Teacher, Cincinnati, Ohio April 11, 2002 Weekly Readings Based on The “I Will” Action Steps An Object Lesson in Justice A Bible Story For Justice I. WEEKLY READINGS BASED ON THE “I WILL” ACTION STEPS JUSTICE vs. Corruption Taking personal responsibility to uphold what is pure, right and true. I Will: Respect the authority of the law. Never prejudice others. Always remain open to reason. Speak out for what is pure, right and true. Keep my own conscience clean. Week One: I will respect the authority of the law. A verse to remember: Psalm 106:3 - How blessed are those who keep justice, Who practice righteousness at all times! Deuteronomy 16:19: This verse talks about taking bribes, which is against the law. Whenever we do things that wrongly influence other people, we are not doing justice. God wants us to treat others fairly. By taking bribes, we become stumbling blocks, causing ourselves and other people to do things that are not pleasing to God. 1 Samuel 8:3: It is so sad when the people we look to for leadership let us down by doing bad things. Samuel was a priest, and his sons were priests. These were the spiritual leaders of their people, the Israelites. For them to pervert God’s justice by taking bribes and participating in blasphemous worship was a terrible crime. Psalm 99:4: Who would be a better person to set an example of justice than a king? David was a king who loved justice. David had a special place in God’s heart because he loved justice. Justice and righteousness are very often seen together. God loves justice, and those who practice justice are seen as righteous in God’s sight. 1 Chronicles 18:14: This is the actual report of David, who administered justice to his people. David did not do everything right, but he saw that the people received justice. There were many poor people in David’s time, and David made sure that they were treated justly. Job 34:17: Job knew that God was just. He would not kill those who were just in their treatments of others. Job knew that he was righteous because he was just. He knew that this pleased God, and that even though some things were not going well now, God would honor Job’s determination to practice justice. Activities for the week: Today we have a different take on justice than in the Old Testament. Today justice is delivered in the courts. It is supposed to be available regardless of financial status. Talk with your children about how the courts try to deliver justice through judges and juries. Show your child a picture of Lady Justice, and discuss the various elements, i.e the blindfold and the scales. Justice is a weighing of good against bad. Help your child to distinguish between “justice” and “fairness.” What is just may not always seem fair. Talk with your child about ways he or she can do justice. For this week, that may include things like not crossing the street against a light, or not littering, following rules at home and school. Talk about the people who have responsibility for carrying out laws, such as policeman. Prayers for the week: You will want to help your child pray that he or she (1) might always treat others justly; (2) might always follow laws and rules; (3) might not do things that will wrongly influence others; and (4) will be respectful toward those who carry out laws, such as policemen. Week Two: I will never prejudice others. Exodus 23:2: This verse talks about not doing what lots of other people are doing, when the other people are doing bad things. It especially says that we should never say things about someone that might not be right. God wants us always to speak rightly about other people, so that justice can be done. If we do not tell the truth, we are not being just. Job 36:6: Job knew a lot about what God was like. Wicked people try to influence others to do bad things. God does not support these things. Job knew that he could expect justice from God because God had allowed Job to be afflicted. We usually think that people who are poor or afflicted do not get justice. God sees that all people get justice. Psalm 37:30 When we always speak justly and righteously, we will not wrongly prejudice others. We will speak wise things that will encourage others. When we encourage others, then we are speaking justly, and God will be pleased with our words. Matthew 23:23 Jesus knew that the religious leaders of his day were not treating people justly. They made all kinds of laws that the people had to follow, but they would not help the people, or treat them justly. Jesus said that the tithes they made were good, but because they were not just, and did not practice mercy and faithfulness, their tithes could not serve them as they expected. Colossians 4:1 It may seem funny talking about slaves, but this verse can just as easily apply to those we do work for, or who work for us, in any context. If we have authority over someone, we are supposed to treat them justly and fairly. If we do not, how can we expect God to deal justly with us? The Golden rule tells us to do unto others as we want them to do to us. This applies to God also. We are to do to others what we want God to do to us. Activities for the Week: If your child has siblings, help them to understand how their own behavior may prejudice their siblings, or vice versa. Encourage the child never to do or say things that might lead someone to do or say bad things. As you watch TV, talk with your child about incidents of wrongly influencing others that might occur. Encourage your child to look for times when you or another adult might be prejudicing someone by your speech. Prayers for the Week: Help the child to pray for (1) awareness of when they might be being prejudiced by others; (2) awareness of when they might be prejudicing others; (3) help in always being fair toward others; and (4) the ability to know how easily they might be influenced by others. Week Three: I will always remain open to reason. A Verse To Remember: Psalm 33:5 - He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD. Deuteronomy 10:18 When we are open to reason, we realize that everyone has a right to have all of their basic needs met. It is only those who are so selfish that they cannot see beyond their own desires who fail to do justice to others. God wants us to look to the needs of others before ourselves. 2 Samuel 8:15 God allowed David to reign for forty years. Despite his mistakes, David was a man of reason, who saw that justice was done for the people of God. He knew that it was only reasonable that all people be given equal opportunities to have their needs met. Job 29: Job knew the benefits of being a man of justice. Scripture often makes reference to the “wearing” of various attributes. Job describes the wearing of justice. It was so much a part of his life that it was like a garment spread over him. Isaiah 1:17-18: The prophet Isaiah brings reason together with justice. The Lord calls us to reason, as we demonstrate justice to our brothers and sisters. The reward is that we will have our sins cleansed, made white as snow. Activities for the Week: Encourage the child to identify, either in real life or in pictures, children who may not have their basic needs met. Discuss some of the reasons for this. Ask the child how he or she thinks they might be able to help someone who does not have their basic needs. If feasible, plan a project around your child’s ideas. If the child engages in unreasonable behavior, help them understand that such behavior infringes on the rights of other people. When we do things that affect other peoples’ rights, we are not doing justice. Prayers for the Week: Help the child pray: (1) that they will recognize when they are not being reasonable; (2) that they will learn to recognize how their behavior might affect the rights of other people. Some of these rights might be the right to peace and quiet and the right to privacy; (3) that they will find ways of making sure that people they know have their basic needs met; and (4) to be sensitive to those who may not have the same opportunities as the child. Week Four and following: I will speak out for what is pure, right and true, and keep my own conscience clean. Genesis 18:19 God knew that Abraham was a person who would live his life as an example to his family of righteousness and justice. The reward in Abraham’s life was the fulfillment of the promise God made that he would make a great nation of Abraham’s family. Abraham lived in righteous before God, and God made him the father of all who will follow in obedience. Acts 23:1: Paul was a man who had a complete change in the course of his life. One day he was persecuting Christians, the next day he was witnessing to the resurrection of Jesus. Throughout, Paul did what he believed was pleasing to God. Once he knew that Jesus was God’s son, he always spoke the truth of that knowledge, never going against what he knew was right. Romans 9:1 This is a goal we should always reach for. Paul always spoke what was right and true, and so his conscience never bothered him. He had the confidence that he spoke in the righteousness of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 10:29: Paul reminds us that we can only live by the guidance of our own conscience. We must always be careful of how others see our actions, and avoid being a stumbling block to them. But other people are responsible for their own conscience and the way they react to what others do. We just have to make sure that we always do what is right. 2 Corinthians 1:12 Paul can say confidently that he has acted in righteousness toward the people in the church at Corinth and toward those who are not in the church. He did this not by his own power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we allow the grace of God to work through us, the result should be the right treatment of others. 1 Timothy 1:5: The goal of all that we learn about Jesus is that we love other people in purity, having a right conscience toward all. When we are doing justice to all people, our consciences are clear, and we can know that we have pleased God. Activities for the Week: Talk with the child about “conscience.” Help the child to understand that everyone has a conscience. We have to distinguish this from the conviction and leadership of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. The Holy Spirit puts a higher call on our lives than our conscience. Either way, we should always have the confidence that we have done the right thing concerning others. Help the child identify some things that they know about that might not be right. Ask the child how they would speak out against these things. Talk to the child about some of the protests that have occurred in this country in modern times. Ask the child if they think people were always speaking out for what was right and true. Prayers for the Week: Encourage the child to pray (1) that they will always know what is right and true; (2) that they will always want to do what is right and true; (3) that they will speak out against things that are not right; (4) that they will try to always do the right thing; and (5) that they are sensitive to their conscience so they know when they have done something wrong. II. AN OBJECT LESSON ON PAYING ATTENTION TO GOD (JUSTICE) Setup: Theme: Quick Change. Teacher Materials: Bible marked at Exodus 15:26; stopwatch or watch with a second hand. Introduce the Object Talk: Sometimes you might think that only grown-ups need to listen to God to do what is right and true in God’s sight. But God wants everyone, for their whole lives, to listen to Him and do what is right. To know what God wants us to do, it is very important to pay careful attention to what he says. Lets find out how good we are at paying attention. Present the Object Talk: 1. Ask the children to look at you for 10 seconds, paying attention to the details of how you are dressed. 2. Ask children to close their eyes (or briefly leave the room). Quickly change one detail about how you are dressed (remove glasses, take off a sweater, roll up sleeves, etc.). 3. Ask children to carefully look at you again, trying to identify the change you made. When change is identified, or after 30 seconds, repeat the activity with yourself or volunteers. Vary the difficulty of changes according to the age of the children. As children are guessing, comment on the way they are paying careful attention. Conclude the talk: Ask What does this verse say about listening and paying careful attention. Read Exodus 15:26 aloud. Listening to God’s voice helps us know how to love and obey Him. We can listen to God’s voice as we read and hear Bible stories and as we pray to Him. Pray: Ask God’s help in listening to Him and doing what’s right in His eyes. III. A BIBLE STORY FOR JUSTICE Bible Story: David spares King Saul's life. 1 Samuel, various passages. (Provide visuals and adjust for age group.) David was the armor bearer for King Saul. David had been a shepherd, but God gave him a very special responsibility. God decided that David would be king instead of Saul’s family. When Saul found out, he was very angry. One day Saul sent David out to fight the Philistine people. When David defeated the Philistines, the people praised David, and sang songs about him. This made Saul want to kill David. When Saul’s daughter wanted to marry David, Saul thought that he could put some demands on David that would get him killed. David survived. He did not think that he deserved to be a king’s son, but he married Saul’s daughter. One day, Saul expected David to attend a feast. When David did not come, Saul got very angry. David knew that he would have to run away. Saul chased after David. One day, Saul thought that he had captured David, but David escaped. Saul chased David for a long time, but God did not deliver him (David) into his hand (1 Samuel 23:14). Even though Saul wanted to kill David, David was determined that he would not do anything to Saul, because God had appointed Saul king, and David knew it would not be right to hurt him. At one point, Saul slept in a cave very close to where David was camped. David snuck into Saul’s camp and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe. Then it bothered David that he had even done this to the King. David went to Saul, and asked him why he listened to people who said that David was his enemy. David showed Saul the piece of his robe that he had cut off. Saul knew that David could have killed him if he wanted to. Saul said “Your are more righteous than I. You have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you” (1 Samuel 24: 17). We should always follow David’s example. Even though people treat us badly, we should always act in a way that is right and true toward them. In this way we do justice to others, and God will be pleased with us.   This material is published by the Faith Committee of the Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Reproduction and Adaptation is encouraged.