Articles
Thats Not Fair
As our children have grown older we seldom hear the phrase that was once very common in our household; “That's not fair!”. Having had four children, one could only imagine how often we would hear this argument, as one child or another would feel as though they may have been overlooked or their point of view unjustly disregarded. We would often come up with an answer as to why we didn't have to be fair or that the decision that had been made was not about fairness. In our parenting, we make decisions for our children based not on fairness, but what was best at the time, knowing that the child may not understand our reasoning. Life does not always present itself as fair especially when we feel as though we have been “dealt a bad hand”. Through the difficult and painful times in our lives, we can find ourselves asking the same questions of God. I know that I am not the only person that has ever questioned fairness, especially God’s fairness, in different situations that bring hurt and pain to people that I know and love. It is, unfortunately, a human characteristic to question and sometimes lay blame on God for the unfairness that we experience. But, I don't believe that God is to blame or that he is the cause of our troubles; the fact is, life happens and we have hurts and pain.
When we encounter hurt or a painful experience, it is easy to wonder if God is even with us. It is easy to ask, “Does God care about me? And if he does, why doesn't he do anything about the difficult things I am experiencing?” It is in those times that we need to remember that God loves us and understands. When God came to earth he didn't come in a form that would keep him from understanding what His creation was experiencing. But God came to earth in the form of a man and he understands our hurts and pains. Sometimes it can be through the tough and painful times in our lives that we can feel closest to God and grow into a place of humility. It is then, that we realize that God doesn't operate out of fairness and does not treat us in the way that we deserve to be treated. Psalm 103:10-12 says “God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the East is from the West, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
