"IT'S NOT FAIR!" (part one)
Ever have one of those days when you want to scream, ‘it's not fair’? Perhaps you feel like that statement defines your life as a whole. My father-in-law was born with deformities and had to have multiple corrective surgeries. On top of that, he had a very deprived childhood.
My mother-in-law’s parents died when she was young. She was separated from her siblings and had to grow up in abusive foster homes. And their troubles have extended into today. It seems they can’t catch a break. They are two people who could scream, ‘life’s not fair’.
Have you ever read certain stories in the bible and thought, "that's not fair"? We'll be looking at some of these stories so we can understand what went on and hopefully gain perspective for the times when we think God's not being fair with us. We'll start right at the beginning.
1) "It was just a piece of fruit!"
We know the story of Adam and Eve's fall from grace. And not only was it just a piece of fruit, it was only one time! God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden for one act of disobedience. That doesn't seem fair, does it? Well, let's look at the dynamics of how this all went down. God warned Adam that if he ate from that tree he would die.
Gen. 2:16-17, "And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
So, it's not like God didn't give Adam fair warning. "But it's not their fault. God tempted them by putting that tree there." Not true.
James 1:13-14, "When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed."
God would not tell Adam to not eat if he didn't give him the power to resist. Everything was fine until Satan whispered in Eve's ear. He was able to get to her. She should have and could have told him to get lost; but she didn't-she entertained him. And in doing so, got trapped and her desire for what Satan told her would happen caused her to eat. Her evil desire conceived and gave birth to sin (James 1:15). Adam, who was with her, ate too. They both were responsible for being dragged away.
Ok, but why the harsh punishment? God hands out the consequences for their disobedience. For the woman, her childbirth pains were going to be increased. And she would be subservient to her husband and there would be contention for the dominant role instead of having a holy partnership. And for Adam, he would have hard labor working the land. It wasn't going to produce like it did before; now there were going to be weeds and thorns. And then the biggie.
Gen. 3:22-24, "And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life."
Here they were, getting kicked out of the garden, along with all the other consequences just for one act of disobedience? Sounds severe. Why did God do that? The consequence is what would've naturally occurred. While we would be focused on the sin, God is focused on sin-period. We are viewing the consequence as unfair because we're looking at the singular act. Thus we fail to see the significance of what they did from a spiritual standpoint.
With them now knowing sin experientially, they automatically forfeited the privilege of spiritual life. So God wasn't being mean and unfair, he was merely acting in accordance with his holiness. Holiness cannot exist with sin-they are polar opposites. Adam and Eve were now stained with sin. If something stained with sin was allowed to be in a place that is purely holy, that place would then cease to be holy. Since Adam and Eve were now sinners; they could no longer be in the place where sin doesn't exist.
And they could no longer have the relationship with God they once had because now they were spiritually dead. A lot changed when they disobeyed God. The consequences that resulted from their compromise were inevitable-God was in essence bound by his own holiness to do what he did. So God was not being unfair to Adam and Eve; he was merely operating according to his holy nature.
We can have the tendency to minimize our sin. "It wasn't that bad." "I only did it once." In this we fail to see our sin as God sees it. That's why the consequences to our sin is often met with the attitude that God is being harsh and unfair. "I said I was sorry and I asked for forgiveness so why am I still suffering? Give me a break, God." In this we are not seeing our sin the way God does.
If we could see our sin through the holy eyes of God we would see how serious it is. We are also failing to see his discipline as an act of love. If we're suffering for our poor choices God is allowing it for our correction. God is not being unfair; he's being loving. He doesn't want us to continue down a wrong path.
Along with this we need to understand the risk we're taking. Satan wants us to focus on the pleasure of sin, not the consequences. Adam and Eve forfeited their place in the garden and their closeness with God. When we sin, we forfeit or delay God's blessings upon our lives and our relationship with him suffers.
What we give up for a few moments of pleasure is a bad exchange. It's like trading a million dollars for a penny. No one in their right mind would do that. When we sin we make a foolish exchange and therefore, we're not in our right mind. It's never, 'just a piece of fruit'. Let's pray to understand how serious our sin is. Let's pray that we are able to realize what we stand to lose when we make that compromise, along with what we stand to gain if we resist temptation and are victorious.
2) "What did I do to deserve this?"
You know those stories where people spend years in prison for something they didn't do? I know the running joke with people in jail is "I didn't do nuttin'; I'm innocent." But the reality is in some cases, that's true. Later someone comes forward, more evidence turns up, or advancements in forensics and DNA testing makes it possible to exonerate the innocent. In the story of Job, we would be hard-pressed to find a better example of the innocent suffering.
Job 1:1-3, "In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East."
So we see from the first three verses how remarkable Job's character was. And we see that Job was very blessed with 10 children and so much livestock and servants. This makes what follows all the more confusing. Satan argues to God that Job is the way he is because God has watched over him and protected him. Throw some calamity his way and he'll forsake you. Satan goes so far as to say that Job would curse God to his face.
So, God allows Satan to bring some hardship Job's way. In a series of unfortunate events, one servant after another came and told Job that raiders stole all his livestock and killed all his servants except the ones who escaped to tell him the bad news. Then the worst news came.
Job 1:18-19, "While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you! ”
Can you imagine? Everything's going well and then your whole world collapses. In one day Job lost his livestock, most of his servants and all of his children. Talk about sucking the life right out of you. It would be like a millionaire suddenly finding out he was bankrupt and then he's told all his kids died in a plane crash.
So how does Job respond to this calamity? Will Satan be proved right? Will Job curse God over this?
Job 1:20-22, "At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing."
Wow, what a reaction! We see that Job had a normal response of mourning and grief but he also had an abnormal response of worship. He didn't curse God as Satan surmised he would. Instead he humbled himself and continued to worship God as he always had. His circumstances didn't change his devotion.
That's what we need to do when tragedy strikes our lives. Let our devotion to God not waver. We will have pain and emotion but let's quickly get into a state of worship; realizing that God is still God. If we lose focus on this we run the risk of Satan getting a foothold. Sometimes when we suffer we think God's love has changed. Not true. God is no less loving, powerful or capable when times are bad.
Look at the perspective Job puts his situation in-'I brought nothing into the world and I will take nothing out. Everything I have is subject to the Lord's control and I see it all as a blessing for the time I'm allowed to treasure it. God did nothing wrong by allowing this to happen'.
What an attitude! It's hard to see the things, and especially the people, in our lives as being 'on loan' from God. They are blessings subject to the master's discretion. If we lose them that doesn't mean they, or we, did something wrong to deserve it.
Job had been dealt a serious blow. But guess what? It wasn't over. You might be thinking, what more could happen to this guy? Well, Satan approaches God a second time.
Job 2:3-5, "Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
Job passed the first test but Satan argues it was because he himself wasn't afflicted. So, God allows Satan to afflict Job.
Job 2:7-8, "So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes."
In case you're wondering, God doesn't allow these things to see if Satan is right; God already knows how it will turn out. And it really wasn't to show Satan he was wrong. The purpose is much bigger than that. If you read the rest of the story you'll see that God had something to teach Job's friends and even Job himself.
But I can't imagine the torment Job is dealing with right now. You're still reeling from the news that you've lost everything and all your children are dead and then on top of that, now you're afflicted with painful sores from head to toe. The Hebrew word for sores can be translated as boils. I don't know if you've ever had a boil but they can be pretty painful. And that's just one-can you imagine being covered in them!
And then we see Job scraping himself with pieces of broken pottery. The Hebrew word here can mean scratch so Job may have done this for relief. However, sitting among the ashes is a sign of mourning so Job's behavior could also be self-harm. It makes me think of cutters. Cutters inflict physical pain on themselves to distract from their emotional pain. Cutters will also do this because they feel worthless.
Regardless, we see Job at a low point of despair. Just because we are upright and blameless it doesn't mean we won't have emotional reactions to our hardships. Ok, so how will Job respond to this disaster? He can't possibly pass this second test. Surely he will curse God now.
Job 2:9-10, "His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said."
Amazing! Even Job's own wife tries to get him to curse God. Are you still holding onto your devotion to God? What for? People might think the same way toward us. 'Why are you still devoted to God after what he did to you?' 'Why are you still praying? God's obviously not listening.'
Have you ever heard someone say, "Why should I serve God? What has he ever done for me?" That's a selfish attitude. 'I will only serve God as long as he does what I want.' The fact is God has already gone to the greatest length to show he loves us-he sent his Son to die for us. But somehow that's not enough-we expect more. "It's not fair that I have to suffer like this." What does God owe you?
This is Job's sentiment. Shall we only serve God so long as times are good? Solomon pointed this out in Ecc. 7:14, "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore a man cannot discover anything about his future."
We don't know what life is going to bring. So, when times are good, enjoy. But when times are bad, don't let that change your disposition toward God. Job's wife tells him to curse God and die. "Curse God and get this suffering over with. Let him kill you-it's better than going on like this."
I don't think Job's wife is being insensitive. I think she's just at her wits end seeing her husband suffer this severely. And don't forget-she has lost everything too.
And I can see how Job could've been tempted to do as his wife said. But he rebukes her for her foolishness. Job counters his wife's emotion with wisdom. That's important for us to do, too. If we let our emotions run then we might do something foolish. We need to counter emotional thoughts with spiritual ones before we lose control.
Job tells his wife that God hasn't promised a trouble free life. We need to be careful of thinking because we are devoted to God that will translate into a life of ease. That's not how God's people lived. Yes, there were blessings but there was also plenty of hardship and testing too. "But that's unfair!" In our way of thinking, perhaps, but God's wisdom supersedes our limited understanding.
If times were all good would we still cling to God or would we forget about him? It's during the hard times that we draw closer to God. It's during these trying times we recognize our dependence on God. It's in the times of testing that we discover how strong our faith is. It's in the refining fire that we have the dross removed and we come away a better person. When times are good enjoy them but when times are bad consider what God is up to in allowing it to happen. What is he trying to accomplish?
It does seem unfair that such a godly man as Job had to lose so much when he didn't do anything wrong. It makes sense that if we abuse something it would be taken away but when we respond to blessings in an appropriate way and they're unexpectedly taken away, that can be very confusing. We wonder what we did wrong. When we read Job's story, we see that sometimes our suffering has nothing to do with what we did wrong.
But that concept has been a problem from the time of Job to today. When Job's friends showed up they thought he did something wrong. They spent plenty of time trying to get him to repent. This belief existed in Jesus' day too. And, as God had to set Job's friends straight, Jesus had to set his disciples straight.
John 9:1-3, "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." Jesus wanted them to understand that just because someone was afflicted that didn't mean it was a result of sin.
But the problem still persists today. There are churches that teach if you're suffering you've either sinned or you don't have enough faith to be healed. We need to get away from thinking if I'm suffering it means I'm rejected by God or there's sin in my life or my faith is weak. Because on the flip side is the belief that if I'm not suffering or if I am experiencing a lot of blessings it must mean I'm upright and blameless and favored by God. Not necessarily, and the story of Job is a prime example of refuting this.
Not to mention Jesus-the ultimate example. He was perfect but he suffered greatly. He wasn't rich; he wasn't honored among men. Isa. 53:3-4, " He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted."
Many would've looked at Jesus' suffering and think he needed to repent. Job's friends thought that of Job. Jesus' disciples thought that of the blind man. People today think that way if someone is poor or handicapped or suffering some other way.
If anyone could cry, "no fair" it would be Jesus or Job. But they didn't do that. They continued to serve God despite their suffering. What about us? When we suffer do we say God is fair and just?
