Richard Ritenbaugh acknowledges that young people display a proclivity to accept socialism, oblivious to the horrendous damage socialist experiments have brought to the world. Politicians of the ilk of Bernie Sanders have fomented hatred toward capitalism by comparing it to an imaginary utopia. Economist Walter Williams insists that the free market, with all its warts, is far superior to collectivism at protecting people from poverty. Poverty is not usually an economic issue but stems from ethical and moral deficits. Socialism simply transfers wealth to the leaders of a government, leaving most of the citizenry in greater poverty. Williams, in his article, "Do These Four Things to Avoid Poverty," suggests that a young person, to keep his nose above poverty or failure, needs to (1.) complete high school, (2.) get a job, (3.) get married before having children, and (4.) be a law-abiding citizen. Poverty is self-caused—not the result of society, bad laws or systemic bigotry. Young people who drop out of school, take drugs, and fornicate set themselves up for failure. The law is no problem for those who obey it, but it will break those who break it, making it difficult to rebound.

Human nature produces partial and unfair judgments that create inequality through favoritism and discrimination. In the workplace, this appears when employers demand full effort yet pay only a bare minimum, or when some receive greater compensation, honor, or privileges for identical work. The same pattern occurs in families when parents grant special rewards to one child while treating others less favorably. Justice requires rewards to reflect actual effort, sacrifice, and responsibility rather than equal treatment regardless of contribution, since equal compensation for unequal effort discourages diligence and obscures the connection between work and outcome. Such partiality is condemned in Scripture. James warns against showing favoritism in the assembly by honoring the rich while dishonoring the poor, noting that this practice is inconsistent with Christ's teachings, stems from evil thoughts, belittles those made in God's image, arises from selfish motives, contradicts the royal law of love, withholds mercy, proves hypocritical, and constitutes sin. God commands the execution of true justice accompanied by mercy and compassion toward every brother, including the widow, the fatherless, the alien, and the poor, while forbidding any plan of evil in the heart. This call for impartial justice and mercy stands against the world's harsh inequities and connects directly to the requirement that believers emulate God's character. Because God has shown abundant mercy in forgiving an immeasurable debt, those who receive His mercy must extend forgiveness, compassion, and fair treatment to others without expectation of return, allowing mercy to triumph over judgment.