It's Not Fair!!!

“It’s not fair. It’s just not fair.” How many times have we heard that phrase? Usually we think of it coming from the “mouths of babes.” Children have a deep sense of right and wrong, at least what they think is right and wrong, and they don’t mind telling us about it.

Tell them they have to eat their vegetables and it’s not fair. Tell them they have to go to bed early and it’s not fair. Tell them they can’t have ice cream ten minutes before dinner and it’s not fair.

Normally we think that “it’s not fair” is something we outgrow. But today we have the prophet Ezekiel chastising the Israelites for saying that the Lord’s way isn’t fair. These aren’t kids. They’re grown men and women. Ezekiel says, “You say, “The LORD’s way is not fair!” Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?”

After all these years, not much has changed. We hear it all the time. Life’s not fair. Someone gets a promotion at work and it’s not fair. “We’re smarter than the other person. We work harder. We’ve been here longer. It’s not fair.”

Someone cuts in front of us driving down Telegraph. They get through the light at 255 and we don’t. It’s not fair.

Someone who has always taken care of themselves, eaten right, exercised every day and never smoked drops dead at a young age while the overweight smoker lives to be 100. It’s just not fair.

It seems like every year we hear about a young man or woman on the way to their prom, or on the way home from their graduation getting killed in a car accident, maybe caused by a drunk driver. What’s fair about that?

We see it all the time in the Church. A parish closes. A school closes. It’s not fair. A parish decides that they don't want to accept the direction of their Bishop and their actions cause them to be excommunicated. What's their response? You guessed it, "it's not fair."

Jesus never promised us that this life would be fair. In fact, He often spoke of the unfairness that we would experience if we followed Him. He said that there would be those who would hate us because of Him. God is love. Jesus is the Son of God, but He tells us that people will hate us because we love Him. That’s not fair.

But here’s the good news. When we reach the end of this earthly life, we will each be judged according to our actions. The judgment will not be fair. If it was, we’d all be in a lot of trouble. God is a God of mercy. He forgives us our sins, just like human parents forgive their children. If He didn’t, none of would be worthy to see Him face-to-face. We’re not good enough to be in the presence of the Creator of the Universe. Thankfully the judgment won’t be fair. It will be much more than fair.

As we come to the end of the first full week of Lent, it’s a good time to reflect on how wonderfully unfair our faith journey is. Good people lose their jobs. Good people die way too soon. People who seem to be healthy get diabetes and heart disease and cancer and it all seems so unfair. But what was fair about Jesus coming to earth as a human being and dying a horrible, painful death to pay for our sins? When you look at the big picture, shouldn’t we thank God that life isn’t fair?