I think it’s meeting the requirements of the law, assuming the law delineates consequences for certain actions.  Do you have a law in your house that delineates what happens to those who push others?  Maybe Gabriella thinks you do and is working from that frame of reference.

"Justice

is rendering to every one that which is his due. It has been distinguished from equity in this respect, that while justice means merely the doing what positive law demands, equity means the doing of what is fair and right in every separate case.

Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary”

That is one definition from Dictionary.com. If we use this definition, we must understand what the law is regarding this situation. If the law is: don’t hit your sister, then whatever discipline that has been decided if such a law were to be broken should be enacted. If the law is: don’t repeat an action if someone tells you to stop, then, if the culprit stops the action after being told/asked to, then justice would be them not receiving punishment. If there were no law regarding hitting, then hitting one’s sister would just be not nice, and again, justice would mean no punishment, though equity might allow the sister to hit back. I didn’t say that was a good idea though.

Aside from this, there is also forgiveness. The bible tells us that we are supposed to forgive many many many times, so perhaps all that would be required for justice here is an apology from little brother.

I think you all are definitely on to something with the law thing.  Kids are way into people getting what they deserve.  There are all sorts of psychological theories behind that.  Forgiveness and seeing gray areas is very hard for elementary schoolers.

i have realized justice is so far beyond my comprehension that if i feel i am in need of it, i need to let it go and ask for grace instead.

something i have been thinking a lot about lately.  something i am having to look square in the eye next week. 

something i have to realize is not in my power, and probably for good reason.  something i cannot rely on to make me whole.

I think you should have started with baa-lelujah.

More often than I wish, I have to stop and ask myself if my motivation in my words and actions is to go after justice or to dispense mercy, if I’m being punitive or if I’m being instructive. For some of us, “justice” is the default setting and it takes a lot of prayerful attentiveness to override that default.

Dr. Phil says that children need to know with 100% accuracy how a situation will be handled.

So, I don’t know how to answer the arching question of what justice is, but I think for young kids as your own, fairness would be you being consistent.  If you’ve punished Gresham before for the same offense (or same type of offense), then it’s reasonable for Gabriella to be upset.

It’s also reasonable for Gresham to assume that he can begin hitting his sister anytime he wants as long as he stops when she asks.

One definition of justice is conformity to truth, fact, or sound reason. I try to keep that one in mind because it helps me realize that I don’t always need justice. Conforming isn’t always in my best interest. I am learning that I don’t have to have justice in situations to be okay. I lead a support group of survivors of sexual abuse, and we talk about this issue a lot. So many times in our lives, we just don’t feel like justice has been served. God is bigger than our idea of justice though. Grace kicks justice’s butt every time! that’s not to say that we should let people walk all over us or anything, but we often feel that things can never be okay with us if whoever hurt us isn’t suffering now. That’s not true. I think you are helping your children see an amazing truth. good for you!

Hitting is different from actually happened.  When Gabriella says she was “pushed” it’s a bit misleading.  What happened was that Gresham was pushing off of the bathtub wall to make big waves.  When he did that he ran into Gabriella.  Not the same as hitting.  Hardly pushing too.

A general rule in our house is that if someone’s doing something you don’t like you talk to them.  You don’t need an adult to intervene unless you can’t make resolve the issue on your own AFTER TRYING.  The exception is is you’re being hurt.  If someone’s hurting you, tell mom and dad and we’ll stop it.

This has little to do with the post.  But I thought I’d clear that up since it seemed as if a couple folks thought Gresham was punching his sister and I was doing nothing about it - that would be a raw deal for Gabriella for sure.

Carry on.

Perhaps you should have used Cartoons : )

Justice is the middle word in Superman’s mantra:
“Peace, Justice, and the American Way”

But really Justice is in the simplest of terms is when people get what they deserve.  That is why injustice is such a big deal.  There are so many who don’t get what they deserve (ie food, water, shelter,etc) Actually now that I think of it(and I am going to spiritualize this whole thing now) as a Christian, I am treated with injustice. Because of what Christ did, I don’t face punishment for my sin...when punishment is what I deserve.

not only did that question hurt my head this early in the a.m., but your commentors use big words.....

Interestingly, I had just finished reading this story on the subject of justice versus mercy when I read your posting…

She quoted Dr. Phil...... ha ha ha

I, personally, am a huge fan of squirt guns or even super soakers. The purpose of these items is not to use them as weapons or condone violence in any way. The purpose is to get your friend, your sister, your brother, your mom, and any number of other people very wet. You can even use them as a form of tag. The truth of the matter is, that the physics behind squirt guns and super soakers allow for the water to be projected enough to increase the likelihood that you’ll get someone else wet. Sure, a hose could work just as well or even better, but there can only be one person at a time getting others wet. I believe that this toy does not encourage violence, it just takes advantage of the relationship between pressure and area.

Cap guns, on the other hand, may encourage violence more, I’m not really sure.

The bible seems to refer to Justice often as an imperative or us to do it, and for God to deliver the justice, “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.”

In the case of the woman who was caught in adultery, Jesus’ idea of justice seems to have been for us to accuse only when we are free from sin ourselves. What a limitation he put on the Pharisees (and us, I think).

Shaun, I can’t imagine the difficulty involved in helping a seven year old understand this. It seems like the situation you longed for between them was .shalom. where peace exists. Sometimes shalom requires that justice not happen, but mercy in its place. If only the Church could raise up a generation of people who loved mercy!!

Grace and Peace,
Jon

The bible seems to refer to Justice often as an imperative or us to do it in our own actions, and for God to deliver the justice when it’s needed and involves other people, “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.” So, do the right things and let God sort out the rest…

In the case of the woman who was caught in adultery, Jesus’ idea of justice seems to have been for us to accuse only when we are free from sin ourselves. What a limitation he put on the Pharisees (and us, I think).

Shaun, I can’t imagine the difficulty involved in helping a seven year old understand this. It seems like the situation you longed for between them was .shalom. where peace exists. Sometimes shalom requires that justice not happen, but mercy in its place. If only the Church could raise up a generation of people who loved mercy!!

Grace and Peace,
Jon

I’ve got some homeschoolers in my house who would not only like your song, but would love to teach it to others. . . I do worry about them sometimes.