THE ARC OF THE MORAL UNIVERSE BENDS TOWARDS JUSTICE

THE ARC OF THE MORAL UNIVERSE BENDS TOWARDS JUSTICE
By Uriah J. Fields

             The arc of the moral universe is long,
             but it bends towards justice.
              - Martin Luther King, Jr.

      First, it seems appropriate for me to give an analysis of "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."
     The "moral universe" is the universe that is characterized by good and right. There is also an "immoral universe" which is characterized by man's inhumanity to man. Both of these universes exist in the world.
     The "moral universe is long," that is it is a great distance, not unlike the long road Nelson Mandela describes in his book, "Long Walk to Freedom."
     "But it," "the arc" "bends," in the direction "towards justice." "The arc" is a part of the circumference of a circle or other curve.
       "Justice" is love manifested and it is always good and right when well served.
       Second, What bends the arc? The "arc of the moral universe" does not bend on its own. What bends the arc towards justice is the good that people express in living. John Wesley stated what bends the "arc of the moral universe towards justice" in this  statement:
      Do all the good you can
      By all the means you can
      In all the ways you can
      In all the places you can
      At all the times you can
      To all the people you can
      As long as ever you can.
      Man was created to be, do and have good. At the end of each day of creation God said, "And it was good," except the last day when He said "And it was very good." Good has to be important for Him to allow "And it was good" to be the refrain of what in creation was birthed each day. It was good in creation and God purposed that man would esteem good as he was created good.
     It is to the degree, and only to that degree, that man be, do and have good, that the "arc will bend towards justice."

Notes:
    Martin Luther King, Jr., and Uriah J. Fields, both pastors in Montgomery, were two of 18 persons who, four days after the arrest of Rosa Parks who refused  to give her bus seat to a white person, founded the Montgomery Improvement Association that directed the Montgomery Bus Boycott. King was elected president and Fields was elected secretary of the organization.

    President Barack Obama speaking on November 16, 2016 at the Stavros in Greece quoted Martin Luther King Jr., who said, "The arc of the moral universe...bends towards justice." He added, "But it bends towards justice not because it is inevitable, but we bend it towards justice." These last six words of the President prompted me to write this article.

Copyright 2016 by Uriah J. Fields

Follow Uriah J. Fields on Facebook and Twitter