Fairness

In church on Sunday, the pastor was talking about the subject of fairness which I have pondered a lot before, and began really thinking about and dwelling on since Friday, when I was visiting the home of a good friend whose father is dying of cancer. Her mom mentioned how they initially struggled with anger over the issue of fairness: they had spent their life doing honest work, they were good people, they always took care of their selves/bodies, and then in a matter of a few months, he comes down with terminal lung cancer that has spread through all regions of his body. He is not yet 50 and he will most likely never enjoy the fruits of all his work on this earth.

Flash forward to Monday, as I am driving out to visit a friend I have known since college and thinking. She and I graduated from the same program at OSU and both got our Masters together at U of P, but that is where our similarities ended. Upon graduation, I left with a significant student loan to repay and she left with a teaching job that she just waltzed into before we even got our licenses notorized. She has always been healthy, comes from a healthy family, and she just recently got married and has already purchased a home. Bryan always tells me not to compare my life to others, so I am not going to color between the lines, but sometimes I ask myself, "Where is the fairness?" In the past year I have struggled with my own health issues, there have been significant health issues in my family, I have yet to land the "dream" job or a home we can call our own, and we have so many bills anyways that it doesn't make sense to add a mortgage to it. Im really happy for my friend and would not call myself "jealous" because that goes against one of God's commandments, but I do as Bryan calls it "compare". Guilty as charged. And I don't do it to be negative. I just do it without thinking.

On the flip side, I compare my life to that of a mutual friend whose husband was doing so well, they had a big beautiful house and several other homes that they rented out, and then he lost his job and they are about to lose the fourth out of the four houses they owned and I can't begin to imagine all the debt they are in, and I am so thankful for the modest life that Bryan and I lead. In that respect, the bad economy does not affect us so much because we don't have any investments yet and our jobs for the most part are secure (despite the shop being down 70% in business since last year). But where is the fairness for this couple? I am not sure if they are believers or not, but I would sure be on my knees talking to God if I were in their position right now.

I know that in these times my situation is not much different from anyone elses and I gripe and gripe about money, jobs, and even health (which another friend tonight pointed out as her biggest concerns in life, so I know I am not alone ;-) It must be a girl thing because a lot of us do compare)so I guess my point to all of this is that I do need to stop comparing. And the point the pastor was making on Sunday was that there is no such thing as fairness. You can be a good person your whole life and get pooped on or you can be a bad person and reap all the rewards. In the very very teeny tiny time we are on Earth, we don't understand God's reasoning behind it all, or why we suffer like we do. There is a greater picture here that we don't see.

Christians are not automatically immune to great challenges and difficulties in life. When we "sign up" to be a Christian, there is no "Get out of Jail free" card, and anyone who claims your life will be better once you become a Christian is full of it. In fact, God gives you trials to strengthen your character and make you an even better person, which in the end does make your life better because you have more joy in knowing that God is on your side and you can get through anything. And once we do get through this part of life when we inhabit Earth, if we know Jesus and have accepted Him as our savior, we get to live forever and ever in a much greater place where we don't need to compare because there is no more pain, no more job insecurity, and no more bills! :-)