Does the Virtue of Justice Allow For All Sins To Be Seen As Equal in the Eyes of God?

Back when I was a counselor for victims of domestic and sexual violence, part of my job entailed going to court with victims. One woman I encountered had been using our services for years even before I got there. To save her privacy, I can’t go into details but it involved a bad rape case with lots of evidence. At every corner, she had been let down by our justice system and her life had turned upside down. She clung to a microscopic piece of thread that the State Attorney’s Office would show up and put her abusers behind bars.

If you are unfamiliar with how the State Attorney’s Office works, I’ll give you a quick overview. They do not represent the victim in the case; they represent the State. Many times, the victim is left out of so much of the process of trying the case and they feel helpless. My particular client was rarely if ever given any information. The only reason she ever knew that a court hearing was coming up is because she kept on top of things, not because anyone at the State Attorney’s Office notified her. One particular day, she saw that a hearing was coming up and she called me to see if I would come with her to the courthouse. Of course, I said I would.

We got there that day and she was extremely nervous. It was a packed courthouse and we seemed like just a few among the rest of the cattle. When her case was called, my client straightened up and I could see that she was holding her breath. The state attorney got up and very nonchalantly told the judge that they were dropping the case. The judge concurred and that was that. My client gasped and then ran out of the courtroom. I followed quickly after her. She ran out to the sidewalk and screamed a primal scream of pain and then dropped to her knees. I was unsure of what to do but I dropped to my knees and tried to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. She told me not to touch her, so I just sat there with her. There was nothing for me to say. She cried in silence and then finally said, “Just like that it’s over and they never even called to tell me they were dropping the case.”

Justice was most definitely not served that day. Inside, I was irate but I held it together for her. I knew all the ends and outs of her case. I knew that her rape kit had never been tested. I knew that her abusers had been accused of a similar crime in the past. I knew that she had never had a voice with the State Attorney’s Office. I knew that the men would go on to hurt someone else if they hadn’t already. Rape is a serious crime and we all know it. If a case had been dropped where my client’s bike had been stolen, neither one of us would have been so devastated. It’s because rape is such a grave crime that we were so upset over the lack of justice.

Intuitively, we all know that some crimes are worse than others and we typically punish them accordingly. We recognize that stealing a candy bar is not nearly as terrible as murder. One is the taking of an inexpensive item; the other is the taking of life. For the most part, we try to run our justice system based on the idea that not all crimes are equal in the seriousness of the harm done. And when someone has done grave harm and justice isn’t served, we have righteous anger.

Now, there is a common thread of thought within some Christian communities that all sins are equal in God’s eyes. But, this begs the question: Is this just? Are we, as mere humans, more just than God? One of God’s attributes is that He is all-just and so it doesn’t make sense that God would see a white lie the same as premeditated murder. As a parent, I don’t operate as if all bad actions by my kids are worthy of the harshest of punishments OR no real punishment at all.

To say that God sees all sin as equal is to claim that either God punishes all sin with Hell or He rewards all sinners with Heaven. Neither one of these options makes any sense because it isn’t just. We all are sinners to be sure and we all offend God with our sin, but let’s for a second, imagine two people. The first one is a person who strives to live a Christ-like life. They go to Mass, ask for forgiveness when they do sin, find time for prayer, and try hard to live by Christ’s commandments. The other person is a murderer in prison who continually denies God. They show no remorse and want nothing to do with God. Do we really think that God sees the minor sins of the first person the same as the sins of the second person? Will both be treated equally when they meet their Maker?

In the Catholic Church, it is recognized that there are venial (lesser) sins and mortal (deadly) sins. While venial sins aren’t good, they don’t cause death to the soul–grace can still live there. Mortal sins are those sins that are so grave and terrible that they leave the soul dead. God’s Divine Life cannot dwell in a soul that is dead to sin. How could it? The only way to restore grace to the soul is to confess your sins to a priest and have them absolved in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If you die with mortal sin on your soul, your just punishment is Hell. You willingly chose to turn your back on God in this earthly life and so God gives you what is due to you. It certainly wouldn’t be just for God to give someone in mortal sin the reward of Heaven when they freely chose to turn away from Him.

How do we know that there are venial and mortal sins? We look to 1 John 5:16-17: “Anyone who sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, should petition God, and thus life will be given to the sinner. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as a deadly sin; I do not say that one should pray about that. True, all wrongdoing is sin, but not all sin is deadly.” We see here in the Bible that there are two categories of sin: Sin that is deadly and sin that is not deadly which means that they can’t be equal.

Of course, we are all sinners, just as St. Paul says in Romans 3:23: “All men have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” It goes without saying that God wishes for all of us not to commit any sins whatsoever, just as every parent wishes their children always behaved well. However, you will never find a verse that says all sin is considered equal.

Now some will argue that because God is an infinite being any sin against Him is infinitely offensive to Him. And granted, that may be true, but the degree to which certain sins separate us from God is dependent on the nature of the sin. A white lie does not disrupt our entire relationship with God; persistently denying God’s existence and worshipping the self does.

Justice is defined as giving to someone what is due to them. If they should be rewarded, reward them. If they should be punished, then punishment is what is due. Obviously, the punishment should fit the crime. We would never throw a candy thief in prison for life, just as we wouldn’t reward a convicted murderer with a slap on the wrist.

I was asked to write about the virtue of justice by my blogger friend, Sara, over at To Jesus, Sincerely. She has written a wonderful journaling book called, Stay Connected: Becoming Holy, One Virtue at a Time. Justice is one of the virtues that she covers. When she asked me to write about it, my mind was pinging with all kinds of things I wanted to talk about regarding this particular virtue. The situation that kept popping into my thoughts was the story I told you at the beginning. It was a time when I witnessed justice lacking.

God has placed an understanding of justice on our hearts because He is all-just. If something is a virtue, that means practicing it helps us be more like Christ. As humans, we recognize that not all crimes are equal which is why we attempt to punish accordingly. It would be great if everybody refrained from committing crimes. The reality is, is that people do commit crimes and justice is required.

God sees our sin in the same way. He wishes we would refrain from sinning. But, because we do, justice demands that it be dealt with accordingly. Venial sins aren’t as grave as a deliberate mortal sin. To deny God in this life and completely turn your back on Him does not warrant the reward of Heaven. Thankfully, only God gets to judge our souls. Only God can see what truly lies within and we can trust that He is merciful when we are not fully culpable of the sins we have committed.

May we always strive to keep our hearts and the hearts of those around us free from mortal sin, so that Hell is never what is due to us. Coupled with justice is mercy for those that are steeped in sin. Because we are called to see Christ in all people, it is good to mercifully try to call a soul out of sin. We must never think of ourselves better than others as we all are in need of Our Savior. Christ desires that all people come to be with Him one day and He extends His mercy and forgiveness to us all in this earthly life if we only seek it.

May we all, Catholic Pilgrims, strive to live out the virtue of justice well.

Please check out Sara’s book on growing in virtue. It makes a great gift for Easter!