It’s Just Not Fair

As I drive my son to taekwondo there is a stretch of road that is under construction. One evening while going home, I was fooling with the GPS in the car and not paying the proper amount of attention to the road or that traffic signs. We were taking this route for the first time so I wasn’t familiar with the thoroughfare anyway. Seeing four lanes I just gunned the engine and went. I was traveling at 42 MPH, so I have been told. Until of course, the nice police officer decided to flash his colorful lights in my rearview mirror. He was nice and understood my dilemma about driving my wife’s car, the new road and speed limit and thus he only gave me a warning. I was very thankful because being in a “work zone” the speeding fines are double. In Oklahoma, the law calls for double fines in any speed zone regardless of whether there are workers present or not. That’s just not fair! It’s not like that in other states. Regardless, I got a warning and not a fine. Now, I know there are people who will say, “That’s just not fair!” You may be right. But nonetheless I was upset and I obsess about the speed limit through that section of road every time I drive it. I get upset when I get passed on that section of road by vehicles ignoring the big sign that advises of a speed limit of 25 miles per hour. I cry to the Lord for justice and fairness that they would get stopped like I did. I appeal to his sense of fairness and good that there would be a police officer anxious to apprehend speeders just over the next hill. That indeed would be true justice. That indeed would be fair! It rarely happens (okay never!).

I have been intrigued by the notion of fairness lately as it is an overused and misunderstood word. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines fair as: “marked by impartiality and honesty: free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism or conforming with the established rules: allowed.” Fairness to me means that it is not arbitrary or showing favoritism to one party over another. Fairness should be equal to all without regard to any other factors or influences. It should affect all parties to the same degree and proportion. Keep this in mind when reading the following. Ask yourself, is it fair?

 

There is a lot of talk politically about the “rich” paying their fair share. While in the US, over 80% of all taxes are paid by just 10% of the population, the battle cry now is for the rich to just pay their fair share. In this parlance, fair means more because that would just be fair. After all, they can afford it. Yet, their tax rate is currently higher based solely on the fact that they make more money. If fair means equal in proportion and degree, then the tax rates would be the same for everyone regardless of how much they make. If fairness means not arbitrary then the rich are already paying more than their fair share. When we look at the Bible, we don’t see God expecting some people to give more just because they have been blessed to make more. The tithe is proportional at the same level for everyone regardless of how much they make. God didn’t give everyone the same amount of talent, but he does expect each person to maximize their potential based on the talents he has given them. God expects each person to return to him the same percentage of what he has allowed them to make as everyone else. The tithe is God's standard and he applies it equally to all based on that standard and not on where or how they obtained it. I must confess that I have been part of congregations that thought that the richer members should carry more of the churches financial burden thus relieving the other members of having to tithe and contribute their fair share just because they can. This is man’s idea not God’s.

 

I also hear frequently that same sex marriage would be fair. It would offer the same privileges and advantages to same sex couples as their married heterosexual counterparts. The rationale behind this is that love has no barriers so the church and the government should not erect barriers either. How can it be fair to love someone and not receive the benefits and societal protections that other heterosexual couples enjoy? Here fairness has more weight and thus the argument gets cloudy. However, in the quest for fairness the culture is scuttling several thousands of years of tradition. While it may seem fair from one point of view, is it really fair to devalue and tamper with all that history. Can something be fair for one party and not the other? Whose values are to determine which is correct and valid? In the United States, until this recent election, every state that had a marriage amendment on the ballot passed them by overwhelming margins. Is it fair for courts to overturn the will of the people in the name of fairness? Now the Supreme Court will be settling the issue. You know after their decision, someone will cry, "It's just not fair!"

Another cry is that it's just not fair that everyone will not enter heaven as if entrance should be based on some arbitrary, human notion of fairness. God would never be that exclusive, restrictive and judgmental. After all, God is a loving and just God and he should want everyone to “get in (which he does by the way). While this sounds good, it goes against the very nature and character of God. God has set the bar high because he is holy and righteous. He cannot even stand to be in the presence of sin, whether it is a small tiny spot or a large cankerous blotch. Neither can sin ever be in the same space God inhabits. Since heaven is God’s dwelling place, since he is the one who created it and resides in it, he sets the requirements for admission. While many people want to impose on God their view of fairness it does not mean God will accept it. Fairness seems to be a moving target based on what we want. If we do not get what we want, it's just not fair. If it is beyond our ability to reach it, it’s just not fair. If someone who has more talent and ability has “stuff” we want it’s just not fair. Something must be done to level the playing field in the name of and for the sake of fairness. If we don’t like God’s standards because he sets the bar so high, we just need to lower the bar instead of raising our expectations and endeavors. We confuse fairness and love with caving in and being underachievers. Like much of what has been discussed here, it is not God’s plan. It is not God’s intent to lower his requirements to make us happy or give us a sense of fairness. We want the creator and sustainer of the universe to bow to our wishes instead of the other way around. Now, that’s just not fair! And I am sure God has a few things to say about that. The next time you want to complain about fairness, try looking at things from God’s perspective. He sacrificed his Son for us and yet we ignore him, deny him or just plain don't give him a second thought. If anyone has a RIGHT to cry, “it's just not fair!” it is God!