Friday, September 21, 2007
It's Not Fair!
Milt Stanley cryptically linked to a piece on Jonah that contained these somehwat magic words: "God is not fair. God is gracious." Both posts generated some interesting comments at both places.
I have learned to hate the word fair. In the comments on his post, Milt Stanley says:
When it comes to God's eternal judgement, the former does not apply and the latter is not nearly so arbitrary as it seems. Simply put, who are we to question God's judgement? To do so is to pretend that we are even capable of understanding God's reasons for anything.
If we believe in a God of Providence, then this also applies to the lesser "unfairnesses" of life. "What does he have that I don't have?" Who knows, and if I am resting in God's hands, should I even care?
God's perspective allows for a just and equitable solution to any situation, provided I rely on His judgement and His perspective, two things which I will never fully comprehend. Yes, sometimes, I feel like I have gotten the short end of the stick, but in the end, I'm not holdng on to the stick. I am holding God's hand.
As long as that is the case, it will all work out in the end.
I have learned to hate the word fair. In the comments on his post, Milt Stanley says:
Having two sons around the same age, I have on occasion been accused of being unfair."Fairness" is a childish concept - it is code for "He got what he wanted, why don't I get what I wanted?" There are, of course, myriad answers to that inquiry from, "He earned it" to "Because I'm the parent that's why."
When it comes to God's eternal judgement, the former does not apply and the latter is not nearly so arbitrary as it seems. Simply put, who are we to question God's judgement? To do so is to pretend that we are even capable of understanding God's reasons for anything.
If we believe in a God of Providence, then this also applies to the lesser "unfairnesses" of life. "What does he have that I don't have?" Who knows, and if I am resting in God's hands, should I even care?
God's perspective allows for a just and equitable solution to any situation, provided I rely on His judgement and His perspective, two things which I will never fully comprehend. Yes, sometimes, I feel like I have gotten the short end of the stick, but in the end, I'm not holdng on to the stick. I am holding God's hand.
As long as that is the case, it will all work out in the end.
