Is life fair? Depends who you ask

“Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right …He follows my decreesand faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous;he will surely live,declares the Sovereign Lord. (select verses from Ezekiel 18)

Being righteous is acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin, according to Merriam-Webster.

Righteousness assumes that a higher authority than ourselves rules this world. And, according to the Christian Bible, that higher authority has OUR best interests at heart.

“Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things(though the father has done none of them) … Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.

Righteousness demands justice. There is reward for doing good, punishment for doing bad. The judicial system in the United States was set up to follow this pattern. We struggle to mete out judgment correctly, but since God knows ability and motives as well as actions, He can do it properly. In His time.

“But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things … He keeps my laws and follows my decrees.

He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live.But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.

The environment we grow up in affects our adult choices, certainly. But we can learn from our parents’ mistakes. We can change. Each of us is responsible for our own decisions, and the direction our life goes.

“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live.The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.

This section of the Old Testament book of Ezekiel drives the point home.

“But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. …

We are not destined to commit the sins of our parents. “Turning away from all the sins” can be done. It’s hard, but possible. The Bible calls that repentance. Even if, as an adult, I do very bad things, I can change. As long as I’m alive on Earth, it’s not too late to change my ways.

Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

Justice is painful. It’s necessary, but it hurts. Parents know this, of course. We can’t have a society with no justice at all. That’s anarchy. If there are no consequences for breaking a law, what’s the point of the law?

“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die. But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die. Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

“The way of the Lord” includes not only justice, but the gift of repentance. The Lord offers forgiveness of sins, to use another Biblical term. The U.S. justice system requires justice for convicted crimes. Sentences can be shortened for good behavior; do the victims always have a say in that?

But God is the “victim” of sin, because sin by definition is doing something that He does not allow. (For our benefit, by the way.) So it’s in God’s realm to offer forgiveness of sins. If He wants to waive the penalty, He can do that.

Such forgiveness is a gift.

Our role? Accepting it. That’s what repentance is.

And the deal is done.

“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. … For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that we will be judged using the same measures that we judge others with (Matthew 7:2). He’s not saying, Don’t judge at all; He is saying, be very careful how we do it.

The living God is a fairer judge than you or I ever will be. Even trained professionals in our judicial system can’t match the judgments of God every time. That’s why we have an appeals system. We need it. God does not.

Justice and mercy are two sides of the same coin. Justice is necessary; mercy is a gift. Both are initiated by the living God.

Both are practiced by us imperfectly. That’s our fault, not His.

Is God fair? He is more fair than you or I ever will be.

Defend your values; don’t force them on us

Voters in Ohio are facing a controversial vote with Issue 1 on Tuesday, Aug. 8.

A yes vote on Issue 1 changes the Ohio Constitution: 

• Increases the number of counties from which signatures are required to get an amendment on the ballot from 44 counties (50%) to all 88 counties (100%).
• Removes the 10-day cure period to fix any errors in the collected signatures.
• Increases the passing percentage from 50%+1 vote to 60% on citizen-initiated referendums, but keeps the passing percentage at 50%+1 vote for legislature-initiated referendums.

A no vote on Issue 1 keeps the Ohio Constitution as is:

• Keeps the number of counties from which signatures are required to get an amendment on the ballot at 44 counties (50%).
• Keeps the 10-day cure period to fix any errors in the collected signatures.
• Maintains the passing percentage of a citizen-initiated referendum at a simple majority (50%+1 vote) and does not create a difference between citizen-initiated referendums and legislature-initiated referendums.

Let’s break this down.

‘Protect our Constitution’

In general, Ohio Republicans support Issue 1; Ohio Democrats oppose it.

According to Cleveland Right to Life, several left-leaning organizations require at least 60 percent of their voting members to change their own bylaws, which is what Issue 1 proposes for the Ohio Constitution. Those organizations include the Ohio Democratic Party itself, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio (ACLU), Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus, the NAACP, and the North Eastern Ohio Education Association Inc. (teachers’ union).

Right to Life, in its press release, says nothing about the other two bullet points in the proposal. Neither do most media that report on Issue 1, for some reason (regurgitating press releases and not doing their homework, in my opinion).

Those other two bullet points make the proposal unworkable.

To get an Ohio Constitution amendment on the ballot, supporters now need signatures from residents of at least half of Ohio’s 88 counties. Issue 1 would require signatures from all of them – a huge ask. If an amendment organizer can’t get the required signatures from even one county, they’re done.

The cure period bullet point is even worse. If a proposal doesn’t collect enough valid signatures in even one county, the entire proposal is tossed out and the organizers have to start over – rather than fixing only the specific issue.

The bottom line: The GOP wants to make it nearly impossible to change the Ohio Constitution in any way.

Why would they want to do that?

According to the Columbus Dispatch in a July 5 article:

Proponents of abortion access filed more than 700,000 signatures Wednesday to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

Backers of the measure filed 709,786 signatures − more than the required 413,487 to account for possible errors and mistakes. It will be several weeks before Ohioans know if this measure has officially made the fall ballot.

The proposed amendment to the state constitution would ensure “every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s reproductive decisions,” including abortion, contraception and miscarriage care.

Cleveland Right to Life, as well as the Republican Party, don’t want that measure to reach the ballot.

Constitution doesn’t need protecting

Rather than campaigning against it – ie, attempting to convince voters they are right – they are trying to force their views on the rest of us by not allowing the issue to even reach the ballot.

They either are unable to defend their position in such a way that they could collect enough votes, or they are unwilling to do so. They don’t want to take a chance that voters might support the abortion rights measure.

I personally will vote against both ballot issues, if I can. Despite the GOP’s Issue 1 slogan, the Ohio Constitution does not need protecting. And abortion doesn’t need to be codified either. On this issue, leave the Constitution alone.

The Ohio Constitution was ratified in 1851, and has been amended 172 times since then, most recently in 2022.

It’s held up just fine. We don’t need to cut off potential future amendments.

The special election itself could be unethical.

Earlier this year, Ohio Republicans enacted a law that effectively scrubbed August special elections from the state’s calendar, calling them overly expensive, low-turnout endeavors that weren’t worth the trouble.

They were right to do that. Good call.

But in May, Ohio state legislative Republicans scheduled the August election anyway. They are hoping to cut off the November abortion rights ballot issue before it even gets there, by scheduling a vote on the Constitution when few voters are expected to show up at the polls.

Sneaky.

Supporters of abortion rights are turning to ballot measures in the aftermath of the ruling last year by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, which for 50 years had guaranteed a right to abortion in the federal Constitution. They are betting on polls showing that public opinion increasingly supports some right to abortion, and opposes the bans and stricter laws that conservative state legislatures have enacted since the court’s decision.

Voters in six states, including conservative ones such as Kentucky and Kansas, voted to protect or establish a right to abortion in their constitutions in last year’s elections, and abortion rights advocates in about 10 other states are considering similar plans.

Abortion is not the black-and-white issue that both political parties make it out to be. Abortion should never be the first option, but there are certain situations (not as many as Democrats would like to think there are) where it could be considered.

Don’t codify it in the Ohio Constitution. But don’t ban it forever, either.

Let’s talk. Let’s work it out. In doctors’ offices and in our homes.

Not at the ballot box.

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Stepping out

I took my passion for hunger issues in a different direction recently.

For many years, I helped organize CROP hunger walks in Saginaw, Mich. – an annual 10-kilometer walk to raise funds to fight hunger. Three-quarters of funds raised were (and still are) sent to the national organization, Elkhart, Ind.-based Church World Service, which supports disaster relief and refugee programs nationally and around the world. The remaining one-quarter is returned to the local committee. Most years, we divided it among several local agencies, including a soup kitchen, a food rescue organization, a homeless shelter and a neighborhood outreach center.

Keeping an eye on government

In recent years, I have volunteered at a food pantry, putting together food boxes and giving them directly to needy people. When the food pantry director (and co-founder) retired a year ago, I took over the operation.

We have given away 50 percent more food boxes this year than last. This mirrors the trend statewide.

Church World Service and the Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, the sponsoring organizations of the CROP walk and the food pantry, respectively, both have lobbying arms, since both also rely on government funding.

Church World Service does most of its lobbying in Washington, D.C. As a practicing journalist at the time, I kept up with what the organization was doing, but I didn’t get involved directly on the political side.

Second Harvest connects with state of Ohio legislators, since the food bank receives a fair chunk of change from them. Most of the food our pantry, and others Second Harvest supports, used to come from donations. Post-pandemic, only about 10 percent of it does, I was told by Second Harvest offficials.

Second Harvest buys the rest – and prices keep going up.CROP

Ohio legislators had to set a new two-year budget by the start of their fiscal year, which was July 1. As is typical with government, the state House and the state Senate passed different budget bills, then had to work through their differences to come up with the final version.

The House version, supported by Gov. Mike DeWine, was favorable to food banks statewide. The Senate version was not, however.

Getting involved

According to a press release from the Columbus-based Ohio Association of Foodbanks:

The budget passed today (June 15) by the Ohio Senate represents a cut in funding for emergency food programs over the next two years, and a drastic, permanent decline in revenue to support basic health and human services most Ohioans rely on.

The Association explained that it requested state funding of $50 million per year “to purchase and distribute Ohio-grown fruits and vegetables, protein and dairy items, and shelf-stable products …Instead, the Ohio Senate reduced funding from $39.55 million per year to $24.55 million per year.”

In other words, the Senate supported only half of what the Association sought – less than the current level of funding.

As a result, a Columbus-based agency called Advocates for Ohio’s Future organized a statewide rally on the Statehouse grounds on a Wednesday afternoon in late June. About a dozen speakers discussed health care, child care, K-12 education and senior citizen programs, in addition to “food insecurity,” which is the new catch-phrase.

Second Harvest chartered a bus to attend the rally.

I signed up, along with about 20 others.

A couple hundred of us from across Ohio attended the rally on a warm, sunny early afternoon. We held signs and repeated a few chants at the urging of the speakers.

The results

Did it matter? A little research revealed to me that groups host rallies like that all the time on a number of issues. I guess that’s how government works. He who speaks loudest wins.

Organizers also encouraged us to write letters and make phone calls to our representatives and senators. I did write an email to my senator, and his legislative aide wrote me a nice response a few days later.

It’s also about making contacts.

A week later, Second Harvest sent this email to its supporters:

All of our hard work across the network has paid off!  It was just announced that the conference committee has authorized $39.5M to food banks, removed the harmful provisions to the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps) proposed by the Senate, and included funding to offset the cost of reduced-price meals for at least 80,000 K-12 students who live in families with incomes between 130 to 185 percent of the federal poverty level!  We are sincerely grateful to everyone who mobilized their networks with calls and emails, posted and shared information on social media, and took time to travel to Columbus with Second Harvest to visit offices and attend the Rally for Ohio’s Future.  It made a difference, and THEY HEARD US! THANK YOU!

The Senate kept the funding same from the previous fiscal budget, then – not an increase, but not a decrease, either.

The state budget signed by Gov. DeWine on July 4 includes $32.05 million per year for the Ohio Food Program and Agricultural Clearance Program. Second Harvest will receive funds through these programs.

As food pantry director, I apply for and receive grants from Second Harvest twice a year to buy food. Each week, I place a food order. I never see the actual grant money; Second Harvest keeps it, then deducts the cost of what I order each week from the grant.

The state budget affects the pantry directly, then.

I wish the pantry wasn’t needed, just like I wished 30 years ago that CROP Walk fundraisers weren’t needed either. But it is, and they are. Even in our wealthy country, people have empty refrigerators.

Are there people who take advantage of us, accepting free food when they don’t really need it? Yes. But they are few. And we don’t judge them. We give a box to everyone who asks for it. If they are deceptive, that’s between them and their God.

The need, however, is great. And growing.

In my letter, I invited my state Senator to visit our pantry. If he is supposed to serve his constituents, and not the other way around, he needs to get out of his office in Columbus and meet us on our turf.

Perhaps at some point, he will. We will see. But I may have to do more relationship building first.

Because that’s the way life works, too.