“That’s not fair!” “Why did I get in trouble?”, “It’s not MY fault!” “But I was here first!” Do any of these phrases sound familiar? Do remember when you were a kid and saying these? Or maybe it was just last week! I KNOW I have uttered any one of these at least once during adulthood.
It seems this sense of right, wrong and fairness never leave us, even as adults. We want what is right. We want our fair share of things. We want equity and we don’t like being treated unfairly or to be singled out for punishment or left out of rewards and benefits.
Have you ever considered whether or not equity and fairness apply to your faith walk? Is God fair? Does He treat everyone the same? Before you quickly answer, consider for a moment what you believe about fairness and goodness. Do you think that you are a good person? When you compare yourself with others, do you see yourself as equal to or even slightly better? Do you compare yourself with other believers, or even your family members? Are quickly to point out their shortcomings and place yourself at a higher ranking, spiritually or morally?
Maybe you don’t call yourself a Christian, but more of an agnostic or spiritual person. You kinda believe there is something or someone bigger than this world who kinda controls it all. A big something, that judges us all for what we do, good or bad. So, you rate yourself as pretty good. You try to do good things to other people. You give to charity and volunteer to walks to raise money. You see yourself as a rescuer of the bad stuff in the world, like breast cancer, alzheimers, children in trafficking, drunk drivers, global warming, pollution, pet population control, pet rescue, the world hunger and clean water shortages.. You do your part, and it is good, but you pat yourself on the back, believing that all this good, will actually ‘make’ you a good person, worthy of good karma or what ever you might believe is out there.
But, is this enough to outweigh the bad, or not so good stuff you did when you were a younger, maybe not wise yet, self? None of us are perfect. Sometimes we don’t think we deserve any unfairness. But, what if we do? What if we all are guilty of bad behavior, that we want to forget about? Somehow believing that some great scale in the universe will work it all out. So, what would this scale look like?
Would it automatically discount all the good works, say if you did something really bad, like murdered someone? Or stole? or told a lie? Who or what would set the standard? Would it be the same for everyone? Ah, the fairness word comes back in.
What would be fair? Is there a scale of giving to charity? A threshold for money or time given to a cause? Does the cause count? Does it have to benefit others? Who would decide what is beneficial to all? Does it matter what you believe would benefit others yourself, or could there be a global good that must be met in this threshold of giving?
If you are a Christ follower, does this threshold mean giving to the church of your time and money? Is it like a point system, like a number line that propels you forward for good works done for Jesus, but telling a lie would send you back done the points number line?
It might sound like this scale is a bad theory to you. Which, thankfully, it is. There is a scale of fairness, and rightness, and goodness. And it is set by a greater being than we, mere humans. It is set by God. And we all fall way short of His standard. WAY SHORT. It’s pretty much impossible. Except we can meet this standard, but only through Jesus. It is fair and equitable. And it is not based upon our efforts or giving to charity. Good works will never help us meet this standard. Only faith in Jesus.
One standard, one requirement, for all people. Faith in Jesus as savior. Pursuing works will never help us meet the standards of God. How much would we need to do? What would count as good? The Bible says only God is good. We might not think God is fair, but He offers this plan for all who choose to believe Him at His word. He shows us mercy and grace. He doesn’t leave us doubting about the future. Our future, after we die. We aren’t rolling the dice, wondering if karma has decided our fate.
We can know for sure our future is settled when we hold to the belief, all the bad stuff we have done has been wiped off our record, and replaced with God’s payment in full for good works, not OUR good works, but Jesus’ work on the cross and His resurrection. To me, that is MORE than fair enough. -God Bless- Nancy
But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. -Romans 3:21-24, NIV.
Moving Forward 