Here is a modern update to Solomon’s fairness test. Do you remember the account…
Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One woman said, “Please my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was in the house. On the third day after I gave birth, she also had a baby and we were alone. No one else was with us in the house; just the two of us were there. During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She laid him at her breast, and she put her dead son in my arms. When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. That morning, when I looked closely at him I realized that he was not the son I gave birth to.”
“No,” the other woman said. “My son is the living one; your son is the dead one.”
The first woman said, “No, your son is the dead one; my son is the living one.” So they argued before the king.
The king replied, “This woman says, ‘This is my son who is alive, and your son is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead, and my son is alive.’ ” The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought the sword to the king. Solomon said, “Cut the living boy in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great compassion, for her son. “My lord, give her the living baby,” she said, “but please don’t have him killed! ”
But the other one said, “He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two! ”
The king responded, “Give the living baby to the first woman, and don’t kill him. She is his mother.” All Israel heard about the judgment the king had given, and they stood in awe of the king because they saw that God’s wisdom was in him to carry out justice.
King Solomon did two amazing things. And, surprisingly, it’s about fairness, it’s not about the sword.
First, he treated prostitutes in fairness with all the wisdom of the kingdom. He did not dismiss them. He showed compassion on sinners, just like Jesus Christ. See Neither do I condemn thee.
God condemns partiality, prejudice, and favoritism (James 2). I know we have been guilty of this. God help us to learn to be more careful…
If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (James 2:8-9)
Second, he made a life-and-death judgment in fairness based on value. He forced the women to reveal how much value they placed in the outcome of the decision. He based his decision on that value. Only by considering the real actual value each women placed on the child, could he make a fair decision. We want to be judged based on our value from our perspective. We should judge others based on their value from their perspective. God help us to learn to be more careful…
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. (Matthew 7:1-2)
So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:12-13)
Please read To Divide the Rent, Start With a Triangle for a modern update on making fair decisions based on value. You don’t have to use a computer program to make a fair decision, but you do need to consider value. Think about this the next time there is a decision to be made or a judgment to be rendered.