day no. 17,044: all the fines are not all fine

“Before fining someone, or flogging him, or putting him in jail, or exiling him, or executing him, which pretty much exhausts the options, we had better know that what we are doing is authorized by God. If it is, well and good. If it is not, then we are abusing someone created in the image of God, and God is going to hold us accountable for it. We should either coerce with a clean conscience (and an open Bible) or not at all.” — Douglas Wilson, Mere Christendom

Moral imposition is inescapable. Someone's morality will be hoisted upon someone else. The only question then is, whose morality will be hoisted upon whom. That said, God is the standard and His Law is the only thing which can in good conscience be imposed to the point of consequence upon another image bearer. If you are proposing some kind of injury, whether it be financial or physical, you must first demonstrate that a principle of God that has been violated that permits you to do so. There is no room for personal preference when it comes to the administration of justice. Just weights and measures means no thumbs on either side of the scales. You can choose to wear an orange shirt for no good reason, but you cannot clap an orange jumpsuit on your neighbor without a good and godly reason.