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Life’s Not Fair

Every parent has heard the words. Every leader has heard the words. Every mediator has heard the words. "That's not fair!"

There is a root thought that causes us to want fairness and it isn't a desire for fairness. A root cause for 'fairness' is actually greed.

In Luke 12:13-15 there is a brief account of a man asking Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance his brother was going to get. In that day, the oldest brother got everything. The younger brother got what was left over. The younger brother was asking for life to be fair. I find it interesting that Jesus didn't challenge the cultural norm of the day. Instead he drilled down to the heart of the matter.

Jesus pointedly addresses that the young man was not motivated by fairness, but by greed. "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

There are many lessons in this statement of Jesus'. The fact that he goes to the issue of greed emphasizes that this young man wanted what was not his. This is the essence of greed.

When you're feeling like you want life to be fair, check your own heart. Are you really wanting something that isn't yours in the first place?

Fasting

Have you ever had that one meal that when you finished you sat back and said, “Wow, my appetite is satisfied once and for all!”? Of course not, our appetite is something that cannot be permanently satisfied. In fact, feeding your appetite actually increases, not decreases, your appetite!

Fasting isn’t an inherently spiritual activity – meaning that there are a variety of purposes to fasting. Fasting is normal before getting blood work done for your annual (or less frequent if you are male) physical. It is normal before a surgical procedure. Fasting is a part of some health regiments to remove toxins from your system. What turns fasting into a spiritual activity is the purpose. I’ve known people that have joined a fast that a church was promoting because, “I need to lose some weight anyway.” That is the wrong motive.

Study Your Bible

When I was in college my great claim to fame was that my GPA went up every semester. What I don’t brag about is that I had a habit of cramming for exams. I’d attend classes (usually) and take notes. I’d even read (most) of the required reading (sometimes right in class). However, I rarely (not never) regularly studied through the semester. This always became evident when an unexpected quiz was handed to me as I walked into the classroom.

At the end of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians he lists a number of rapid fire instructions. Because they are quick, bullet-point type of instruction, we may tend to miss their importance. In 5:19-22 he writes, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (emphasis mine)

What are we to test everything against? What is the measuring rod? Of course, it is God’s Word. If we don’t know God’s Word, we cannot test everything against it. Our daily life provides us with unexpected quizzes each day that, if we pay attention, reveal how we are doing.

We go to a movie and watch images that are contrary to God’s teaching, but if we’ve not studied the Bible, Satan has easy access into our thought life. We hear a preacher says something and accept it simply because he’s a preacher. We mindlessly listen to the radio and let the message covered with a great tune get into our brain.

Paul challenges us to study God’s Word so we can test everything. Not just for the final test but for the quizzes along the way.

Studying God’s Word requires more than a 10 minute ‘devotional’ read. Those readings are important and are effective at allowing God to speak to you on a regular basis, but studying for the test requires some focused and intentional time in addition to those brief daily readings.

Get yourself a set of commentaries; you don’t have to spend much. The Life Application Bible Commentary is a great, inexpensive set of paperback commentaries that provide a great balance of information and application.