Zero Tolerance is the Antithesis of Restorative Practice

The apostle Paul wrote "No one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin."

Stop and think about it. Has anyone ever been restored by a rule or a law? Name one person whose life was restored by their obedience to any law. In fact, the only real value of any rule or law is to make us aware when we impose ourselves into the rights of others. For example; run a red light and risk death and destruction. How do you restore the life of someone killed by a collision? What law would accomplish that?

We all read of children who are caught with an aspirin in school. The rule is zero tolerance. You have an unauthorized aspirin on your person, you must spend a week in detention. It seems that there is more violence done by obeying the rule of zero tolerance than there was from the original infraction.

The conclusion is inevitable: you do the crime, you do the time. While you are doing the time you become even more estranged from the community. Where is the restoration of relationship in that?

The purpose of restorative practice is to restore community. It is unclear how any rule would accomplish that task.

If rules won’t do it, what will? Paul gives us a hint by writing, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God and are justified freely by His Grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Life experience will show that merely labeling someone a disciple of Jesus will not restore relationships and community. But if you study those who have successfully restored relationships, you will discover they have not done so by obeying a rule or a law. They achieved that elusive goal in other ways.

Jesus set the standard by forgiving those who sought to destroy Him. He said, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors". Each of us sets our own standard for restoration of community. We can’t be forgiven unless we forgive. Pure and simple.

In ‘Le Miserable’, Jean Val Jean was banned from relationship in the community by the law when he stole a loaf of bread. His relationship with community was restored when the priest forgave him for stealing the silver service.

World War I ended with the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was required by law to pay war reparations. The net result was to impoverish and humiliate them, thereby creating an opportunity for National Socialism to flourish under the leadership of a charismatic dictator.

World War II ended and the US Government created and funded the Marshall Plan to rebuild and revitalize the countries that had been devastated by the war. The result has been unprecedented partnerships among former adversaries.

Therefore; it seems clear that zero tolerance is the antithesis of restorative practice.