And many of us would be tempted to charge God with injustice
in our own personal lives, too. How come my computer crashed and I lost all my
work on the same day I had a flat tire? That doesn't seem fair. Why was my
sister the pretty one? Not fair.
Scripture is overflowing with affirmations about the righteousness and justice of God.
The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his
ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and
upright is he. Deuteronomy 32:4
For the LORD loves justice... Psalm 38:28a
Clouds and thick darkness are all
around him;
righteousness
and justice are the foundation of his throne.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory. Psalm
97:2, 6
Your
righteousness is righteous forever,
and your law
is true. Psalm 119:142
My observation is that often what we mean by describing
something as unfair is that we don’t like it. “Unfair” might not be about
justice so much as it is about my personal comfort or preference.
It is not wise to demand that God be “fair,” to give us what
we “deserve.” Because, from God’s point of view (the only POV that matters!)
what do I really deserve? The Bible says that all of us sin and fall short of
God’s glory. In fact even one transgression of God’s law means we’re guilty of
all of it (see James 2:10). God’s word is clear that the “wages” we earn by sin
is death.
To be brutally honest, what we really deserve, what is truly
fair, is punishment, judgment, and ultimately, divine wrath.
Don’t demand that God be fair; He is. What we really need is
mercy.
The genius of Christianity’s story, the gospel, is that it
goes beyond mere justice and adds mercy. So to people like you and me who are
justly condemned, God extends mercy by satisfying justice with the death of His Son in our place: so that he might be just and the
justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).
God’s answer to the injustice of this world? One day He
promises to remake everything. Evil will be destroyed, His people will be
vindicated and delivered, and Jesus will reign in peace and joy with us
forever.
In the meantime:
- Let’s trust that God knows what He’s doing - that He has a plan for this world and its problems.
- Let’s resist the temptation to grumble that “life’s unfair,” but instead let’s praise Him for His mercy.
- Let’s stand with people who are suffering and hurting, and do our best to bring His love to them.
- And let’s draw closer and closer to Jesus, the One who bore our sins, heals our hearts, and prepares us for heaven.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are
not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18
