For many of us, justice is something that is static, idealistic, and codified. In contrast, mishpat is dynamic, realistic, and creative.

God’s personal, passionate concern for justice and righteousness was the starting place for His people to build them into every part of their culture. The place we should all live from is “justice and righteousness.” Everything we do, from the way we raise our families to the way we run our businesses to our own relationships with the vulnerable, should reflect “justice and righteousness.

The welfare of you, your community, and the world are central to living righteousness. The Creator of the universe knows what we need to do to stay healthy, balanced, and free within the design of His creation. This is His how-to guide for living our healthiest, most relationally rich and happy life. Staying inside His boundary lines is ultimately for our own benefit. When we go outside them, we are hurting ourselves and others.

It might seem that righteousness means you have to live up to God’s standards, like when you are in school and have to do everything right in order to get a good grade. But a better way to think of righteousness is living inside God’s intended order.

Instead of using His righteousness as an excuse to distance Himself from people, God’s righteousness means that He comes so close that He can save His people.

Doing justice” meant not only “not doing wrong,” but also actively doing right and restoring what is broken.