Is it possible to be impartial?
We ask our juries to do just that—be impartial without favoritism toward a particular viewpoint.
Often the requisite for impartiality is a dispassionate view of another’s circumstance. The facts are presented, and the juror is charged with discerning the reasonableness, fairness, and, ultimately, the defensibility of their conclusion.
Our society depends on trusting the intrinsic nature of those things which are moral, ethical, and righteous.
In fact, in the past we took so seriously the mandate to ensure fairness, that we used to call upon witnesses to swear an oath to God regarding testimony.
Today, we are told to simply tell the truth under penalty of perjury.
But with lives and livelihoods in balance, shouldn’t a person have to swear by an ultimate authority beyond the gavel of an earthly judge?
To be sure, the atheist protests. But there is something about invoking God’s name (or whoever one perceives as the highest judge and authority).
It is saying or affirming, “From the premise and foundation that right and wrong exist, I am stating that what I am about to say aligns with absolute truth and not relative truth. And certainly not jaundiced truth.”
There is an interesting story told in the Old Testament about two women who lived together and had children born three days apart. During the night, one child died because the mother accidentally smothered it.
While the other mother rested, the mother of the deceased child switched the two infants.
In court before King David, each gave witness to the living child as being their own.
The king said bring the living child and cut in two giving one half to each woman.
Then, the woman who was the actual mother relinquished and said to give the child to the deceitful woman.
The king, believing that only a true mother would make such a sacrifice, gave the child to the rightful woman.
I guess the point is this; those things which are true manage to be discovered.
And whether a jury or judge rightly decides is of lessor importance than the actual truth.
We may wish for earthly impartial courtrooms, but we take comfort in knowing that while justice may be thwarted in the here and now, it is never concealed for eternity.
Better to get it right today than face a judge more capable of discerning the truth impartially.
Kent Simmons is the pastor of Canyon Community Church in Kingman, AZ.
