Mercy and justice must be joined

Brothers, the world that forgets God is ruled by injustice toward its neighbor and inhumanity toward the weak. As the divine Apostle says: “Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do what is not fitting. They were filled with every kind of injustice, wickedness, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and evil-mindedness; whisperers, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, boasters, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, without natural affection, without mercy” (Romans 1:28-31). But those whom God leads back to godliness he teaches both to abstain from evil and to care for mercy toward their neighbor. So the prophet Isaiah taught, speaking from the person of God: “Stop your evil deeds; learn to do good” (Isaiah 1:16-17). The law had many commands about not harming one's neighbor, and also commands about being kind and showing mercy. If someone abandons one of these, the other is not enough to set a person right. For neither is a good deed to the needy from unjust gains acceptable to God, nor is the one who abstains from injustice praiseworthy if he shares nothing of his own. About those who commit injustice and still try to bring gifts to God it is written: “The sacrifice of the ungodly is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 15:8). And about those who show no mercy: “Whoever shuts his ears so as not to hear the poor, he also will call out and there will be no one to listen” (Proverbs 21:13). Therefore the Proverb advises: “Honor the Lord from your righteous labors, and offer him firstfruits from your fruits of righteousness” (Proverbs 3:9). For if you are about to bring an offering to God from injustice and robbery, it is better neither to acquire such a possession nor to bring an offering from it. For a pure gift will carry the prayer, as it is written: “The prayers of the upright are acceptable to him” (Proverbs 15:8). And again, if you acquire from righteous labors but do not bring offerings to God from which the poor are fed, it will be reckoned to you as robbery. So he says through the prophet Malachi: “The firstfruits and the tithes are with you, and the plunder will be in your houses” (Malachi 3:8-10). Therefore you must mix mercy and justice together: acquire with justice, and spend for mercy, according to what is written: “Keep mercy and justice, and draw near to your God always” (Hosea 12:6). For God loves almsgiving and justice (Psalm 33:5). So the one who attends to mercy and justice draws near to God. From here on, let each person examine himself, and let the rich person look at his own sources of income from which he is about to bring gifts to God: Did he oppress the poor? Did he force the weaker? Did he exploit the one under his authority, using power instead of justice? For we are commanded to keep what is just and fair even toward slaves. Do not use force just because you have power, and do not exploit just because you are able. Rather, since the means of authority are available to you, show the deeds of justice. For you will not give proof of your obedience to God and your fear of him in what you cannot do, but in what you are able to transgress and do not transgress.