IT'S NOT FAIR!!!! How many times have we thought this to ourselves or heard our children say it. What about the common response, "Life isn't fair"? Most of us have lived long enough to see that this is true, but it seems so WRONG! Why does someone hate me when all I've done is be as caring a person as I know how to be? Why does someone pick on me when I've done nothing to deserve it? Why does someone make up vicious rumors about me and talk behind my back? Why do greedy people get away with stealing from the less fortunate? Why? Why? Why? Why isn't life fair?????
This morning, I was struck by a passage in John:
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15: 18-20, NIV)
And another passage about "the world" says,
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (I John 2:15-17 KJV)
I start to get a picture. If I am abiding in God and doing His will, the "lust of the flesh" and the "lust of the eyes" and the "pride of life" is not a part of my experience. But this is all "the world" knows, and all of life's "unfairness" comes from this.
A worldly person does not understand how I can love someone that doesn't love me, so assumes I must have some "angle" like he would. A worldly person doesn't understand that I want those around me to prosper as much as I want to prosper myself, so assumes motivations for my actions that are far from the truth. A worldly person doesn't CARE about me but only about himself! The reason life is not fair is that I am an ALIEN in a foreign land! My culture of loving God and loving others as myself is so foreign to the culture of this world that I am frequently misunderstood and mistreated. I should not be surprised at this. It is to be expected! Understanding this allows me to better "love my neighbor as myself" as I realize they really don't know any better. They are warped by the culture in which they live.
Consider someone from a country with laws to protect human rights traveling to a foreign country where human rights are regularly trampled on and are not honored in law or custom. This person may very well find some people who respect and honor him or her, but certainly should not be surprised when their rights are trampled on by some. The best he or she could do would be to simply do his best not to offend while remaining true to his or her own beliefs.
This is my task. To do my best not to offend, while living within God's will. Sometimes, this indeed means that life is not fair (and sometimes I can't help but offend as I live in a way that is foreign to others).
Father, sometimes traveling in a foreign land is scary to me! I want to live in that land "flowing with milk and honey" - not the one that has "wars and rumors of wars"! I ask for your promised peace and the presence of the Comforter as I continue my journey in this world. Thank you that you understand what it is like! I am so grateful for Jesus journey here on this earth to show me the way! And I am so grateful for your love! I hear your words to me, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)" Thank you, Father! May I continue to abide in You and may Your will be done in my life. Thank you, Father!
4 comments:
I want to live in the land where there will be no pain, no death, no sorrow, where God Himself will wipe the tears from my eyes. There have been so many tears since my husband died in January. And it doesn't seem fair that I'm left alone. But I know that I can cope with the aloneness better than he could have. Though I would have traded places with him in a heartbeat (that's how much I loved him), God in his mercy and wisdom allowed it to be the way it is. Sometimes, I just want to crawl into God's big lap, lay my head on his shoulder, and plead with him to dry my tears now, not later! No, this world is not fair, but God is, and He is my comfort and peace. Thanks for your post; it's a blessing to me.
Thank you so much for sharing - and I'm grateful my blog was a channel for God's voice to you today. As I read your comment, my heart and prayers go out to you. In the past year, I too, have shed many a tear as 3 people close to me died. Won't it be wonderful when God wipes all tears from our eyes and there is no more death, sorrow, crying or pain! (Rev. 21:4) In the meantime, I am so grateful for this promise in John 14:18 - "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."
Thanks, Cheryl, for your sweet reply and for your prayers. I looked up all the Bible texts that contain the word "comfort." God is truly a wonderful Comforter, Help of the helpless, Hope for the hopeless. I'm so thankful that I know Him! Reminds me of a line from an old song, "Where can I go but to the Lord?" Really, nowhere else.
That song says it all, doesn't it! :D
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This blog is simply a sharing of my "daily bread" - my daily walk with God. If something I've said has touched your heart, or sparked a new thought, I'd love to hear from you.