IS EQUALITY OF OUTCOME JUST?
STRIVING FOR A TRUE BIBLICAL VISION OF JUSTICE (PART III)
Key Facts
On November 1, Kamala Harris posted a video on Twitter discussing the differences between “equality” and “equity.” Harris promotes the idea of equitable treatment rather than equal treatment. Harris seems to define equitable treatment as equality of outcome, saying “Equitable treatment means we all end up at the same place.” [1]
According to Pew Research [2]
“Over the past 50 years, the highest-earning 20% of U.S. households have steadily brought in a larger share of the country’s total income” compared with the other four-fifths. In 2018, the top 20% of income earners brought in 52% of the country’s total income.
The US has higher income inequality compared to the UK, France, Italy, Canada, Germany, and Japan.
“The black-white income gap in the U.S. has persisted over time. The difference in median household incomes between white and black Americans has grown from about $23,800 in 1970 to roughly $33,000 in 2018.”
“Overall, 61% of Americans say there is too much economic inequality in the country today.”
“Middle-class incomes have grown at a slower rate than upper-tier incomes over the past five decades.”
Key Scriptures
Psalms 99:4 “The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”
Deuteronomy 15:7-11 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, 'The seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'”
Acts 2:42-45 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
Ephesians 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”
1 John 3:17 “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?”
Acts 20:33-35 “I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”
2 Corinthians 8:13-15 “For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, ‘Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.’”
Also see: Leviticus 6:1-7 Matthew 20:1-16, 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27
Want to Know More?
Center for Biblical Unity - Equality vs Equity
Carneades.org - Equity vs Equality (Philosophical Distinction)
Initiative on Faith and Public Life - The Bible and Economics: Will There Be Inequality in Heaven?
Reformation 21 - Identical Equity?
Medium - Social Justice: Equity or Equality
Randy Alcorn - Will All People Be Equal in Heaven?
For a different perspective: Christian Community Health Fellowship - A Christian Critique of Equity
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics - Justice and Fairness
Application
In this series, we have looked closely at the biblical ideas of equity and equality. In early November, Kamala Harris posted a video on her Twitter account about the differences between equity and equality. This topic has been so complex, that it has required three articles to address.
The first article looked at how the Bible defines these words, how they fit into God’s picture of justice, and how they differ from modern definitions. The second article took a deeper dive into the origins of inequity and whether all differences in outcome are the result of sin and injustice. In this final article, we will be addressing the primary proposal of Harris’s video that we should advocate for “equitable treatment,” which, in her words, means that “we all end up at the same place.” This has often been phrased as equality of outcome. Does the Bible promote equality of outcome? Should Christians advocate for solutions which strive towards this goal?
Challenges to Equality of Outcome
Based on the principles established in the first two articles, true equality of outcome becomes unsound for several reasons.
First, to reiterate the main point of the second article, not all inequity is the result of sin. While there are certainly many differences in outcome which result from the sinful choices of individuals, systemic injustices in culture, or the effect of sin on creation, this is not always the case. There are other differences in outcome which result from our individuality and diversity, such as innate characteristics, various preferences, different choices we make, cultural differences, geographical differences, etc. Differences in outcome which do not result from sin should not be corrected. These are a result of God’s good creation. To try and end all of these differences would be to play the role of God or to eliminate the diversity and individuality which God has superintended in our lives.
This leads to the second reason. Because there are both sinful and non-sinful sources of inequity, it can become exceedingly difficult in some situations to determine how much of an inequity is the result of sinful inequity and how much is the result of non-sinful inequity. Our world is complex, and many inequities we might observe are a combination of both good and bad sources of inequity. Even among sinful sources of inequity, who can know how much of the inequity is caused by individual sin (like laziness) and how much is caused by cultural sin (such as unjust laws or attitudes)? Interestingly enough, we can observe a partisan divide on this account, with Republicans being more likely than Democrats to point to personal factors as major contributors to inequality. Christians should not be quick to assume one way or the other, but should use wisdom and discernment in evaluating each situation.
Third, due to the complexity surrounding the sources of inequity, it makes little sense to start with equality of outcome as the predetermined goal of justice. In fact, starting with a predetermined outcome can lead to injustice. Imagine if a judge approaches a case with a predetermined outcome in mind before hearing any of the facts or circumstances of the case. Could such a trial like that be fair? Proverbs 18:13 says, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” Justice which is based on predetermined outcomes is not really justice. In instances where a predetermined outcome is present, there is usually injustice involved such as bribery or partiality (Deuteronomy 16:19-20).
A final challenge to equality of outcome can be seen in a simple thought experiment. Imagine that all wealth on earth was equalized such that everyone had an equal amount (in other words, equality of outcome in money). How long do you think everyone would still have equal amounts of money? One can envision that it would not take long for new inequity to develop. Some people would save the money, some would invest it, some would spend it in various ways (both wisely and unwisely). Very soon, we would once again live in a society with unequal outcomes. This seems to go along with the Bible’s affirmation that there will always be poor among us (Deuteronomy 15:11, Matthew 26:11). How then would equality of outcome have to be maintained? Thaddeus Williams, a professor at Biola University, points out that we would need some kind of totalitarian government to enforce sameness and uniformity. Otherwise, inequalities would continue to develop.
To summarize, advocating for complete and total equality of outcome could only be imaginable if all differences in outcome resulted from sin and injustice. However, even if we lived in a sinless world, we can see that natural differences would have arisen. The case certainly could be made that there would be less inequity because all sinful sources of inequity would be eliminated. Nevertheless, true equality of outcome is impossible and trying to enforce it would be unethical.
Addressing Inequities Which Resulted From Sin
While we can see that pure equality of outcome should not be our goal, this does not mean that Christians should not care about inequities. As this article has been saying, there are many inequities which do result from sin and injustice. Christians should be the first to stand up for biblical justice, equity, and equality (Psalms 99:4, Proverbs 2:9-10). Yet, we must do so in a wise and discerning way, not looking for simplistic solutions to complicated problems.
To this end, let us think through how to address the various forms of sinful inequity. This will by no means be exhaustive, and it should be remembered that most injustices are not one-dimensional in nature. Nevertheless, there are some general principles we can use in thinking through these tough issues.
First, let’s address individual sin. In such cases, you often have one of two scenarios. We have inequity resulting from the sin of another (such as theft). In such a situation, you have a clear victim and a clear perpetrator, and restitution or punishment should be given depending on the circumstances (Exodus 22:1-31, Leviticus 6:1-7). However, we also have the situation with inequity resulting from one’s own sin. On one hand, we want to acknowledge the fact that no one is perfect (Romans 3:23) and that all of our sins could lead to different inequities in our own lives. Thus, we should honor the image of God in every individual and show mercy and grace by desiring to offer some kind of help. This is a good impulse. Ultimately, though, as Christians, we should strive towards a balance of grace and truth (John 1:17). It is not always the wisest thing to offer unlimited resources to undo the negative outcomes of someone’s personal choices. Sometimes, people need to be allowed to suffer the consequences of their own decisions so that they can learn from them. In the end, this decision is a matter of discernment and leading by the Holy Spirit. One consideration in trying to achieve this balance would be to make such help contingent on genuine repentance from that personal sin. Where repentance is not shown, it becomes difficult to justify offering the same level of assistance in addressing the inequity created by your own hand (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
Next is inequity arising from cultural sins. This is without doubt the most complicated to address, one on which many Christians will disagree. In large part, this is because either the victims or the perpetrators or both cannot be as clearly defined. It’s one thing to say that an unjust law exists and should be changed. It’s another to say that a culture exhibits sinful patterns of behavior or attitudes. To many, this seems vague. Do cultures sin or do individuals? If a culture is the sum total of the individuals who comprise it, is it just to punish an entire culture if only part of it was responsible for the injustice? How are we to address cultural sins of the past? This article cannot begin to answer all of these different facets but they are worth considering.
Lastly, we have inequity resulting from the effect of sin on creation. Like cultural sin, this is difficult to address. If an earthquake results in your house collapsing, you cannot bring the earth into court and seek restitution. Neither can you seek restitution from your parents if you happen to be born by chance with a genetic defect. In such cases, there is no person who can be held responsible for these tragedies. Nevertheless, Christians can seek to alleviate the suffering that such a person may have to endure in life as they themselves take responsibility for what is in their control.
Unfortunately, addressing sinful sources of inequity is not cut and dry. There is often a combination of individual, cultural, and creational sources at play in any particular injustice. Most of the time, they cannot easily be separated into their particular sources and addressed in isolation. Nevertheless, at a very basic level, we should all agree that injustices which can be justly corrected should be corrected and that those responsible for injustices should be held accountable.
Addressing People’s Needs Rather Than Inequity
While the Bible does seem to acknowledge that there will always be inequities, both good and bad, it also places great emphasis on generosity in meeting people’s needs. In Deuteronomy 15:11, it says, “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.'” Even though it acknowledges that poverty will continue to exist, that is the very reason given to be generous toward our neighbor (Acts 20:33-35, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Ephesians 4:28). It doesn’t emphasize generosity and meeting people’s needs with the goal of creating equal outcomes, but out of a desire to love one’s neighbor and see them flourish. God knows that we live in a fallen world, in a fallen culture, and with fallen individuals. There will never be pure equity, but we can work towards meeting people’s needs out of a desire to be generous with others as God has been generous towards us.
To make this point, we can perhaps look to the illustrations in Kamala Harris’ video. If you watched it, you should recall that it showed the ground being leveled so that both individuals could climb the mountain and reach the top. Addressing people’s needs very well could look like leveling the ground to give people equal opportunities to flourish. But addressing needs does not mean holding to an expectation that everyone will reach the top of the mountain. This is something we can neither force nor guarantee.
Conclusion
Based on the principles established in Scripture, pure equality of outcome is impossible and not how God intended this world to be. He created us with diversity and uniqueness that would lead to different outcomes. Nevertheless, many of the different outcomes that we do see are the result of sin. Where we are able, Christians must strive towards combating sin and injustice and the inequity which can result. Simultaneously, even though we live in a fallen world and cannot fix all the ills of society, we are called towards generosity in meeting people’s needs, not because we desire equal outcomes but because we love our neighbor. How that will look like on both an individual and societal level can be debated, but Christians must seek the wisdom of God as we strive towards these goals.
Thus concludes our 3-part series on equity and equality. If you haven’t done so yet, make sure and read both part 1 and part 2 and to read our other content!