Georgia National Fair theology

I would sometimes exclaim to my parents while growing up, “That’s not fair!” 

When you grow up with five brothers and a sister as I did, there are plenty of times when it seems like one of your siblings is Mom or Dad’s pet child, and has received more favorable treatment than you.

“Hey. Why am I having to do the dishes again? Alan hasn’t done them for two weeks.”

“When are you going to make Marty vacuum the car?  I’ve never seen him do it. It’s not fair.”

To this complaint, my parents had the ready answer: “There’s only one fair a year.  That’s in October.”

They would sometimes add. “The only reason to look into someone else’s bowl is to make sure they have enough.”

Life isn’t fair. It’s a Biblical value.

“God does not treat us as our sins deserve.” Psalm 103:10     

Even the thief on the cross next to our Lord understood it. He said to the other criminal who was mocking Jesus, “We are getting what our sins deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Luke 23:41

 God does not treat me as I deserve. What a blessing! Because if I counted up all the times I said the wrong thing… if I counted up all the times I was so worried about myself that I didn’t take time to help others… if I tallied up all the times I have fallen short as a son, husband, father of eight, and pastor… the list would be personally sad and embarrassing. I don’t measure up to man’s standards, let alone God’s. 

It’s not that we should forget about attempting to be fair in our treatment of others. “Masters, provide your servants with what is right and fair.”  Colossians 4:1 “Do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.” Leviticus 19:15

Rather, the lesson is that God placed the punishment for all my wrongs on His only begotten Son at the cross, so that He might forgive all my sins, and shower me with undeserved grace and mercy. Looking back, I can attest to the fact that I have experienced far more blessings in life than I deserve, the greatest of which is to know my standing before God as a forgiven sinner through faith in Christ.

The lesson is… if I’m a child of the God who was willing to take a punishment that I deserved, then I should be willing to suffer some injustice in life. And I should be willing to suffer without complaint.  “Why not be willing to be wronged some? Why not be willing to be defrauded?” the Bible rightly asks in 1 Corinthians 6:7. 

“How are you doing today?” Through faith in Christ, the answer truly is, “Better than I deserve.”

Want to experience fair? Remember, there’s only one fair a year in middle Georgia.