For quite awhile I did not do any of my Sunday Thoughts and to start the series again I would like to share this article on
"God Is Not Fair" with you. Starting with a poem composed by Walt Huntley.
How good it is that God above has never gone on strike,
Because He was not treated fair in things He didn’t like.
If only once, He’d given up and said, “That’s it I’m through!
“I’ve had enough of those on earth, so this is what I’ll do:-
“I’ll give my orders to the sun – cut off the heat supply!
“And to the moon – no more light, and run the oceans dry.
“Then just to make things really tough and put the pressure on,
“Turn off the vital oxygen till every breath is gone!”
You know He would be justified if fairness was the game,
For on one has been more abused or met with more disdain
Than God, and yet He carries on, supplying you and me
With all the favors of His grace and everything for free.
Men say they want a better deal, and so on strike they go,
But what a deal we’ve given God to whom all things we owe,
We don’t care whom we hurt to gain the things we like,
But what a mess we’d all be in if God should go on strike.
All of us can understand the rights of the victims of crime, overtaxed citizens, battered wives, unborn children and prisoners of war. In fact there is a whole lot of special interest groups that have points to make for legitimate cases, examples:-
Women’s rights; Men’s rights; Criminal rights; Animal rights; Patient rights; Human rights; Constitutional rights; States’ rights; Labour rights; Religious rights; Civil rights; Consumer rights.
Each of these has a degree of legitimacy, but where do we stop? Do we give mothers a right to decide whether they want their unborn children to live? Do we slap a murderer on the wrist because his lawyer successfully argues “temporary insanity”? Do we excuse a high school boy for raping a girl because the judge feels that the boy had been subjected to sexual stimuli in society and was only doing what was natural? Do we make it legal to kill millions of unborn children while bringing harsh fines and swift imprisonment for killing bald eagles? Do we adopt the philosophy that personal rights and pleasure are more important than loyalty to marriage vows? Do we continue to allow confessed criminals to escape the consequences of their actions because of foolish technicalities?
What about God’s rights? Have we ever stopped to think about it? He has allowed himself to be victimized. Over the course of history many have exploited His name for personal gain. He has been hated without cause, slandered without reason, and forgotten without apology. His character has been misrepresented when humans have suffered. His name has been cursed when humans have reaped the results of personal sin. His family has been abused and injured by every kind of irresponsible behavior. At best, His authority has been ignored.
He has been blamed for famine, war and disease. A tree falls on a car and the insurance company calls it “an act of God.” People have killed other people in His name. His wisdom has been mocked by each successive generation. His standard of holiness have always been considered old-fashioned by the sin-soaked society of every era.
Is He big enough to handle all this abuse? Of course He is. He is not insecure. He can take care of himself. But the telling point is that because of His unconditional; love, He has chosen to make himself vulnerable. He is wide open to abuse from humans who are especially interested in their own private rights.
Human sense of “fairness” reduces God’s standards to the place where we can perform and function in life without utter, total dependence on Him. Complicating matters, “fairness” demands that we take time to clarify and evaluate circumstances from the limited perspective of each person involved, rather than from God’s eternal viewpoint. As a direct product of humanistic philosophy, the “fairness” doctrine is based on man’s value system and timetable! The parable of the prodigal son and especially the attitude of the elder brother is an example for a case in point.
Since God isn’t “fair” as humans perceive “fairness” what is the alternative? Praise God that there is and it is God is merciful and just! “Fairness” tries to remove guilt, usually by mocking principles set forth in God’s Word or by shifting the blame. Justice however states that we are individually responsible for our internal attitudes and external behavior. Justice by itself will send all of us to Hell! This is where Mercy comes in to help us! Through the eyes of mercy He looks beyond our faults and sees our needs, patiently viewing us as finished products – even while we are in process. Mercy is given to those who agree with God’s standards of righteousness, but then immediately confess their inability to achieve those standards. This however, requires adjustments on our part.
