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That's Not Fair!
From My Blog Archives: When the Horse is Blind
Study in Colossians
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September 2, 2008
Dear Friends:julie2
 
This week's issue of Dogwood Digest deals with the times we don't understand what God is doing in the world around us. Injustice seems rampant, and the Bible sometimes seems to instruct us in ways that are contrary to our own intuition. When life does not seem fair, we need to keep our focus on the One who is wiser than our wisest rational thought.
 
It is not too late to join us in our study in Colossians! Check out the opportunity at the bottom of this newsletter to work your way through this book with me in one month!
 
Please use the link at the very bottom of this email and forward it on to a friend who could use some encouragement! Thanks!
 
Love, Julie
That's Not  Fair!
 
When I was a young girl, I would often protest the injustices I saw in this world. "That's not fair!" I would cry with self-righteous indignation.
 
Inevitably, my father would give his predictable, annoying reply. "Life's not fair," he would tell me.
 
I'm not the only one to observe the injustice in the world around me. Asaph, the psalm writer, made the same observation in Psalm 73. "My feet came close to stumbling, my steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked . . . they are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like mankind. . . always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence; for I have been stricken all day long and chastened every morning." While we might assume wicked refers to the morally corrupt, this Hebrew word actually indicates those who have no claim to the Lord. Asaph was watching those who had no relationship with God prosper. Why did they receive blessing while those dedicated to God were struggling? It wasn't fair.
 
Jesus spoke to this issue when He told the parable of the laborers in the vineyard as recorded in Matthew 20. A wealthy landowner hired laborers to work in his vineyard at sunrise. They agreed to work the entire day for one denarius. Later in the morning, he hired more workers who went immediately into the field. At noon, he hired more workers. Three o'clock in the afternoon came, and additional workers were hired to join the others on the field. Finally, at five in the afternoon, the landowner hired his last batch of laborers and put them to work.
 
Soon dusk was upon them, and the laborers came in from the field to claim their wages. Each worker received a denarius for his labor, no matter how long he had been at work. As you can imagine, the laborers who had been in the field since sunrise were furious! Why should those who were in the field for a scant few hours receive the same amount of money? That's not fair!
 
At their indignant protests, the owner made no apologies. "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?" Jesus explained the parable to His disciples this way: many who are first will be last, and the last, first.
 
The world will never seem fair to us, because we are looking at things from a very limited, human perspective. We will acknowledge that something is the work of God only if it makes sense to us. We expect God to protect the innocent and give victory to the good guys. But it doesn't always work out that way. As Asaph observed, the wicked prosper while the righteous struggle to survive. It's not fair.
 
Joseph was one biblical character who could have shouted "That's not fair!" from the highest pyramid. He had been sold by his brothers into slavery, served as a slave, and though innocent, spent years in prison, all through circumstances beyond his control. Years later when Joseph was finally second in command in Egypt, his rotten brothers appeared before him trying to buy grain during a great famine.
 
At that moment, Joseph had the power and opportunity to get his revenge for all of the pain they had caused him. Instead, he welcomed them with open arms, forgave them for what they had done to him, and provided for their needs. Joseph's brothers never did suffer consequences (outside of a guilty conscience) for their wicked deed. In fact, they actually received a serious benefit to having sold Joseph to Egypt-- he was able to provide grain for their families and eventually homes for the whole clan in Egypt, where food remained plentiful.
 
But before you get too indignant about the injustice in that story, think about another time when an innocent man suffered through no fault of His own. He was without sin, yet hung on the cross and suffered for the sin of all mankind. Our sin nailed the spikes into the hands and feet of Jesus. Yet we alone derived the benefit from His suffering.
 
So I guess my dad was right -- life is not fair. Thank God it is not! We will never suffer what we deserve, because Jesus paid our debt. His grace and mercy saved us from the consequences of our actions. It may not be fair, but we can be thankful it is not.
From My Blog Archives
Monday, February 11, 2008
When the Horse Is Blind
John Madden is my husband's and sons' favorite network football game commentator. This is a football family, and they know of whom they speak! What makes John Madden so good at what he does is his experience. He has dedicated his life to professional football; first as an NFL player, then as an NFL coach of the Oakland Raiders. Now he entertains fans everywhere with colorful commentary and unsurpassed knowledge in the sport as the game is played.

In the years he coached professional football, John Madden's players would occasionally question him on what he told them to do. They didn't see the logic in his instruction. They wanted to know why.

John's response to a questioning player was always the same: "It doesn't matter if the horse is blind; keep loading the wagon."

I love this quote. Aside from its enchanting whimsical quality, there is a nugget of truth in it for the Christian as well. When God instructs us in His Word, whether we understand the logic or wisdom in that instruction is kind of a moot point. We just need to be obedient. There is so much that we cannot understand in God's purposes and workings in the world. Isaiah tells us His ways are higher than ours. So we need to trust Him at His word. And respond in obedience.

So much of what the world tells us is contradictory to what we read in the Word of God. Therefore, obedience sometimes takes a "rewinding" of the tape which has been prerecorded in the earlier years of our lives. The world tells us: Don't be a wimp. Stand up for your rights. Sometimes God's name is even invoked in the world's wisdom: God helps those who help themselves. But Jesus told us: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:5, 39-44).

We live in a society that prizes ambition and self-made men. The fact is, no one had to train us to think "Me First." That attitude arises naturally out of our sinful nature. None of us has to struggle to make ourselves our top priority.

Yet Jesus calls us to a different path. When we think of meekness, or putting God and ultimately others before ourselves, we might be tempted to think these commands are asking us to be weak. I don't know about that! It takes a tremendous strength of character to put aside our own agenda to obey the Lord. This is not instruction for the weak at heart! In fact, it will be impossible for us to obey the commands of God without His assistance.

So He gives us power. Paul wrote the Ephesians that this power is "in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:19, 20). We have resurrection power at our disposal! And we will need it, because our obedience will require superhuman strength.

I once heard the kingdom of God referred to as the "Upside Down, Inside Out, Backwards Kingdom." It is true-- what the world values is oftentimes opposite to God's heart. So we must turn away from what we thought was truth to the truth of God's Word.

Don't get me wrong. I am not talking about "blind faith." I don't think there is any such thing. We place our faith in a God we know to be faithful, good, loving, wise, and righteous. There is nothing blind about that! Yet there will be times when He asks us to do what does not make sense to us. When that happens, just keep loading that wagon.

Devotional Study  in Colossians
 
Summer may be almost over, but it is never too late to join me in our study in Colossians! Just click on over to juliecoleman.blogspot.com to begin daily short studies that systematically work through this epistle. If you are just beginning, scroll down to day one and work your way up.
 
Be sure to pass the link on to others who might enjoy this month-long study!