Jury Duty

Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

– Isaiah 1:17

The United States Constitution guarantees that all people — regardless of race, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status — have the right to trial by an impartial jury. Juries decide the fates of criminal defendants and the outcomes of civil cases, so it’s important that every citizen respond and fully participate in jury duty if asked. But jury duty is more than an obligation … it’s also the right thing to do. Of course, doing the right thing can be difficult when it’s costly, unpopular, uncomfortable, or inconvenient. And depending on the case, that’s exactly what jury duty can be.

A few years ago, a judge in western Pennsylvania decided to spend the day at the county courthouse. While that sounds like it should have been business as usual, Judge Linda Fleming happened to join 119 of her fellow citizens who’d also reported for jury duty. In the end, she wasn't seated as a juror because an attorney objected to her presence in that capacity. Nevertheless, Judge Fleming was determined to do her civic duty and serve — or at least make herself available — rather than use her position as an excuse to avoid it.

Doing the right thing is also a biblical principle. As we read in James 4:17:

 "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."

There are times when doing the right thing takes courage. While we may never encounter foreign troops on a battlefield, we could face other opponents — like injustice, crime, or discrimination — that we’d have no hope of defeating ourselves. The good news for Christ-followers is that we're not alone against our enemies. In fact, we should be encouraged by the countless number of people like you and me that God has empowered to do the extraordinary against overwhelming odds.

A familiar example from the Bible involves David — then an obscure shepherd-boy — who considered it his duty to defend his nation by killing the giant Goliath with a single stone from his slingshot. It was this same shepherd-boy who eventually became King of Israel and the one God called "a man after My own heart." 

As Christ-followers, we can take heart. It might be a scary world out there, but God doesn't expect us to solve all the world's problems. Instead, it's by seeking and using his power in faith that we can make a world of difference. And it all starts when we do the right thing by responding to our call of duty.