It's Not Fair!

Now that my seven-year-old is going on fifteen, I've been informed lately that sometimes I am simply "not fair".  Fortunately, this didn't start until just a few months ago, but the other night I'd finally had my fill.  

We had just gotten home from church, and although it was getting late and already close to their bedtimes, we let the kids play outside for a few minutes and then continue with their regular bedtime routine, which includes a bedtime snack (usually a bowl of cereal or Emily's favorite-"peanut butter spoon").  As Ashlyn sat at the table, she felt the need to tell me that "for two reasons it's not fair!"  I was obviously curious about what was wrong with the situation, so I asked.  She emphatically replied, "It's not fair because on the way home from church I saw a kid outside playing with their dog and I saw another kid jumping on a trampoline!"

Knowing that I'd let her stay up a little later than usual, I calmly said, "Okay, so what's not fair?"

"That I have to go to bed!"

I took her bowl of cereal and said, "Ashlyn, would you like for me to fair?  Fair would be that you would be going to bed on time tonight instead of eating your bowl of cereal past 9:00.  Fair would be that you would have come home and gotten straight into bed.  Would you for like me to be fair?"  She looked at me sheepishly and then quietly asked, "No.  May I have my cereal back please?"

Of course I gave it back to her, because I love her and I wanted to let her finish her snack.  But I also encouraged her to be grateful for what she does get to do.

You know, in a spiritual sense, I've heard a lot of people say the same thing about our Heavenly Father.  They say, "It's not fair!  Why would God allow this to happen?"  Or, "Why would a good God send people to hell?"

The truth is, I thank God that He isn't "fair"!  If God was simply fair, there would have been no death on the cross.  There would have been no Savior.  There would be no grace.  If God was fair, we would ALL be destined to a life apart from His goodness.  Have you ever thought about this?  Please don't mistake me--I know that God is just.  But isn't it great that even though He is perfectly just, He has shown us such great mercy?

He doesn't "send" people to hell--man took care of that himself when he had the perfect life yet chose to sin against the Almighty Creator.  It is what we deserve.  Romans 6:23 tells us that the payment for sin is death.  In all fairness, we owe that debt--not Jesus!  But the next part says that through Jesus, we have the free gift of eternal life from our merciful Father.  I will take God's mercy and grace over His "fairness" any day.

I think this mindset comes from our tendency as humans to think of ourselves more highly than we ought.  We forget how HOLY our God is.  There is absolutely nothing we can do on our own to have salvation.  It is only by His grace and the faith that is given to us by Him (Ephesians 2:8-9).

I praise the Lord that He is not "fair"!  May we never forget what an undeserved gift of grace He has extended to us!