It's Not Fair!

I'm not going to comment on the election, except to say that a phrase I've heard a lot from both parties this election year is "It's not fair!"

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As children, we are continually told by our parents and teachers to play fair and to share equally. While that admonition helps us develop good character and people skills and shows us that they did not favor one child over another, that teaching also sets us up to believe that life should always be fair.

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But the truth is, life is not always fair. Sometimes life is just plain unfair.

Ecclesiastes 8:14 points out that "in this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good" (NLT).

And Jesus told His disciples that the rain so necessary to abundant crops falls on the just and the unjust.

This doesn't seem fair, does it? The Psalmist too struggled with this dilemma in Psalm 73. "Why do the wicked prosper?" he asked (v. 16).

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Then he thought about their end and realized they were on a slippery path to destruction (v. 18).

That was when he realized how bitter he had become over life's unfairness (v. 21). His trust in God was restored because he remembered that God was leading him to a glorious destiny (v. 24).

I too have often struggled with the unfairness of life. Unfairness plays havoc with my sense of justice.

The trouble with this kind of thinking is that unfairness then becomes a double whammy. Not only do I experience unfairness when it occurs, but I am allowing it to continue to affect my life by not accepting that life is not always fair.

Instead of constantly rehearsing in my mind what I can do to make things fair, I need to let it go.

Basically, it boils down to an issue of forgiveness. When I realized that we are all flawed human beings and need to be forgiven, and that we all make mistakes which hurt others, whether intentionally or not, I can forgive and let the hurts go. Only in this way can I keep past injustices from ruining my present life.

Are you struggling with unfair treatment? The answer is to forgive and let it go. Only God can bring final justice. Leave it to Him.