As America has moved from a Christian nation to a post-Christian nation, the meaning of words have changed.  Gay no longer means gay.  Equity no longer means equity.  Rather than equity being defined by God’s law ensuring biblical justice, it now is a wealth redistribution scheme mediated through the force of law or through guilt-manipulation.

Recently, talk-show host Bill Maher asked Senator Bernie Sanders what the difference between equality and equity is.  Sanders responded that he did not know. It was a humorous exchange between the celebrity and the senator who is a socialist leader in modern politics.  It was also very revealing.

The word equity is being used as a weapon in the modern woke and cancel-culture movement, but no one seems to be able to define what the word means. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) officers are everywhere to ensure equity, so someone needs to define it.  Even in the church there is an absence of knowledge about the meaning of the word.  I think this is because the meaning has changed over the last 20 years, and the church has not kept abreast of a world that is being transformed right before her very eyes.

The meanings of words do change.  For example, the word gay used to mean happy and delighted. The Flintstones were gay – both Fred and Wilma.  Every episode was introduced by their theme song that invited us to participate in a gay experience. “We’ll have a yabba-daba-do day.  We’ll have a gay old time.”   However, today the word gay refers to sexual perversion.  Similarly, my mother used to tell me to stand up straight; “don’t slouch,” she said.  Today, that might be considered an inappropriate directive.

The meaning of the word equity has changed. There is the old meaning and a new meaning. The dictionary tells us that it means “even, fair, and impartial,” but that is not enough to capture the use of a word in any society. We always need a reference point or a context.

Historically and traditionally in a Christian society, the meaning of the word equity was rooted in the Bible. It appears at least ten times in most modern English translations.  An important text is Psalm 99:4 where the Psalmist says, “The strength of the King loves justice.  You have established equity. You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob (NASB).” Equity was equated with treating people fairly, justly, and righteously in accordance with the Law of God.

For example, regarding crime and punishment in the Old Testament, equity was mandated.  If a man steals another man’s property, he is not to be put to death or sentenced to ten years in prison.  He is to pay back double.  This is equity (fair) according to God’s law.  If a man steals business property, then he is to pay back more than double, not just to restore the that which was stolen, but to compensate for lost income. This is equity (fair) according to God’s Law.

My wife and I watch old British movies on Britbox, and invariably the story involves someone who is put in prison for 10 years for the theft of something like a few items of clothing.  This is not biblical.  It is not fair. Old Britain might have been considered a Christian nation, but they drifted too far from the biblical concept of equity.  In some societies the punishment for theft is to have your hand cut off.  Horrible!  Unjust! The same could be said for horse thievery in early western America.

If a man murders another man the punishment is not probation or life imprisonment, but death.  “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed (Gen. 9:6).”  Murder was a capital offense, when verified by two or three witnesses. We could go on with many other examples, but I hope you understand something of the old concept of equity.  It was rooted in the Bible, especially in God’s law.

Also, it should be noted that justice or equity must not consider race, gender, or economic status in judgment.  Lev. 19:15 says, “Do not pervert justice, do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.”  The symbol of Lady Justice who is blindfolded is appropriate and biblical.

Since we have become a post-Christian society, the meaning of the word equity has changed.  It has been hijacked. Maybe this is the reason Senator Sanders could not define the term.

The modern meaning of equity is probably derived from the world of finance. For example, if you purchase a $500,000 home and pay $100,000 as a down-payment, then you have $100,000 of owner’s equity in the home.  You own one-fifth and the bank owns four-fifths.  In a sense, if it has five bathrooms, you own one of them and the bank owns the other four.  Thus, the word equity has been popularized to refer to wealth.

In modern parlance, equity has come to mean the transfer of wealth due to injustice in the past which has resulted in disparity between different groups of people. This transfer is accomplished by either force (government statute or corporate directives), or simply by guilt-manipulation.

It should be noted that wealth is more than just money. Wealth can include positions of power or privilege. Certain other symbols of wealth such as talents and godly parents cannot be transferred, but this does not stop the woke movement from transferring all they can. The goal of modern equity is to right every social wrong by the transfer of wealth, without any reference to biblical law or ethics.

Modern equity is a redistribution of wealth scheme which must first be enforced by civil government.  For example, in the City of San Francisco, shoplifting of merchandize under the value of $950 has been decriminalized, and any retailer that seeks to apprehend such thieves can be sued. You can walk in a store, steal property, and walk out and go home.  No one is allowed to stop you.  You don’t have to go before a judge.  You don’t have to return the merchandise.  Theft is now considered to be an act that creates equity, not disparages it.  It is a state enforced equity in direct opposition to the definition of biblical equity.

The Supreme Court recently declared Affirmation Action as unconstitutional.  Again, this was a law that sought to promote the redistribution of wealth based on race or minority status rather than on merit.  Remember that wealth is more than money.  It includes position and power.

Also, the forgiveness of student-loan debt was another equity scheme to transfer wealth by law from one sector of society (many of those who chose not to go to college) to another sector (students in debt).  Reparations is one more scheme to transfer wealth from one class of society to another – again by force of law.  From a biblical perspective, reparations is just another form of theft – sanctioned by government force.

In addition to the implementation of modern equity by the force of law, the other major scheme to transfer wealth is simply guilt-manipulation.  Because some white men owned slaves in the South, all white men today are perpetrators of injustice or inequity.  If you can make another person feel guilty, they will become putty in your hands.  This seems to be the goal of the modern social justice movement.  Guilt is associated with the color of your skin or into what family you were born.  White men are guilty, period!

I must admit, that as a white man I am privileged, but this privilege comes by the grace of God, and not because there is any inherent goodness in me more than what exists in any others.  We are all wretched sinners because of our connection to Adam.

It is also interesting to note that within the structure of the white race there are inequities. I was raised in Appalachia where the sun hardly shined (because of the mountains), and where there were few dentists.  We wanted to improve our way of life, but we never wanted to do it with handouts from the civil government or by the force of law.  The Peace Corps was never welcome in our town.  We wanted to climb out of our poor condition, but only through merit and hard work.

As America has moved from a Christian nation to a post-Christian nation, the meaning of words have changed.  Gay no longer means gay.  Equity no longer means equity.  Rather than equity being defined by God’s law ensuring biblical justice, it now is a wealth redistribution scheme mediated through the force of law or through guilt-manipulation.

The gospel is the only answer to this change in America.  Only the gospel can right what is wrong.  Only the gospel can put fathers back into the home.  Only the gospel can give men the drive to use their gifts to the fullest for the glory of God.  Only the gospel can give privileged men humility and give marginalized men a hope of advancement in a society such as ours.

It appears that the church is choosing to avoid the cultural battles of our day because we have left the public square, and because we have retreated from leading our people in understanding the issues in the modern culture wars.  Understanding the hijacking of the word equity is necessary in order to participate in that war.

Larry E. Ball is a retired minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is now a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tenn.