“It’s not fair.”
Have you ever caught yourself whispering those words, hoping no one else can hear you because you know there are a petty, obvious statement of your own jealousy? I have. So many times.
As I contemplate and sort out my feelings when that statement rises to the surface, I’m always sobered because that statement reveals idolatry.
When we say something isn’t fair, we identify some expectation or standard that we were using to evaluate our circumstances–an expectation or standard that wasn’t met. And usually, that expectation or standard centres around me either in my deserving something because of a perceived “good” I’ve done or because the other (there’s always an ‘other’, isn’t there?) did not do something to deserve it.
Honestly, life’s not fair. Life rarely is. …But it is still good.
Psalm 119:68 says “You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” …If God is good, and what He does is good, that means that whatever He has allowed to befall me is of His perfect orchestration of goodness in my life. God can’t do bad because He isn’t bad. Nothing in Him is bad. He is totally and completely good. And therefore, every single action God takes or allows is completely good: God “works out all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). So when I declare something as not fair, I’m exposing the focus of my heart’s gaze: my own expectations based on my own perceptions. This statement shows what my heart was grooming way deep down: an idol of my own making, pride.
So when my tongue is tempted to make this statement, I have two choices. Either I can continue to whine about my circumstances, revealing in the idolatry of my own pride and thereby only heap on more misery because that rabbit hole is a rabbit hole of all kinds of death, or I will repent of my arrogance, ask Christ to change my desires, and lean hard into the perfect heart of Christ who only does good, even when it is not fair, and thereby find life and peace and rest from my burdens.
…Funny thing about that second choice? It’s not fair either. There is nothing in me that deserves that life and peace and rest, but Christ gave His life so I could have it. Not fair, but oh so very very good.
What you’ll find here is a collection of musings, thoughts, writings, and ramblings about things I’m reading, watching, and thinking about. It’s my goal to inspire, encourage, and instruct my fellow sisters in their walk with Jesus and their understanding of the Word.
- Erika Recommends: Best Books of 2021 - December 15, 2021
- Slow-Going in the Fast Lane - October 14, 2021
- A Taste You Can Feel In Your Cheeks - September 29, 2021
