“It’s not fair!”
Most of us can remember saying that as children. It used to drive me crazy when my mom would reply, “Life isn’t fair, get over it.”
I swore I would never say that to my own children. But, of course I did. In fact it was a lesson I tried to instill in them, sometimes shouting it and sometimes gently reminding them in commiseration when something had hurt them. I wanted them to learn this sad fact so that they wouldn’t be surprised and hurt deeply later on, but do we ever really learn it? Don’t we all ache for life to be fair?
Recently, my husband’s cousin lost her dear husband. He was full of life and his passing came suddenly. Only a few short weeks later, her sweet mom died unexpectedly after contracting the flu. SO not fair!
My one year old grandson spent most of last week in the isolation ward at Children’s because of a bacterial infection. He and his parents were stressed and exhausted, but as soon as they got home, their daughter became ill with a high fever. Not fair!
I myself am clumsily typing this while laying on my right side in bed. This is day two and a half of laying still. Because of a chronic inner ear disease if I move at all during an attack I become very ill. The fun week I had planned will all have to be cancelled (yet again) while I pass my days in miserable solitary confinement. Not fair!
And, just like children, we tend to blame our Father for not protecting us and for not somehow making life fair for us. Why couldn’t a murderer have my disease and be unable to get out of bed instead of me? Likewise, why couldn’t Frank’s life be spared and someone on death row die instead? I wonder how many times questions like these have been asked throughout history.
When we focus on the unfairness of this world we cripple ourselves even more. I recently read this sentence in a Bible study: “The eternal judgment of God is altogether fair.” I need to embroider that on a pillow. I need to read and reread it. For, after a few days in bed I forget once again and go back to whining about the unfairness of it all.
These verses were recommended to me to read when life isn’t fair: Psalm 73, Romans 2:6, Hebrews 9:27, and Ecclesiastes 9:11. I’m going to look them all up and remind myself of God’s perfect plan. What verses would you add when “Life just isn’t fair.”
