We have a problem with fairness as a human family.  We’re not above practicing nepotism, gender bias, racial bias, and other forms of inequality and unfairness simply to gain an advantage over someone else.  And when given an opportunity to solve the problems of inequality, we always manage to carve out a special place for those to whom we would like to show a little favoritism.  There always seems to be a loophole that allows some to escape the fairness of a policy or decision designed to make everything fair to everyone.  When God lays out a plan of justice and equity, we become like the Ford Motor Company of years ago, thinking “We’ve got a better idea.”  The problem is typically that we don’t have a better idea, only a different idea.  And our ideas are often as flawed as those of us who are bound by the sin of our humanity.  We have yet to figure out the mysteries of the world we live in.  It baffles me — and I’m sure many others — that we believe we can out-think God.  We seem to be bound by our ignorance and willfulness to not listen to God.  And yet there is hope.

         Our hope is in our God whose thoughts exceed ours, whose ways of acting are different than ours.  God has no one to be jealous of or envious of.  God has no one to compete against or curry a favor from.  The prophet Isaiah has queried:

         13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD,

                or instruct the LORD as his counselor?

         14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,

                and who taught him the right way?

         Who was it that taught him knowledge,

                or showed him the path of understanding?[1]

Because of our limitations or both pride and prejudice, the idea of being fair with each other is a challenge.  But with God, fairness is as natural as the grace and forgiveness we receive from God.  We could not think of a way to save ourselves.  So, God thought of a way that was fair and would save us all.  It was grace — the all-forgiving, unmerited love of God freely offered to us.  The only price we pay is our faith that grace is enough.

• If you had to create a way to save all of humanity, what would your best idea be that might be better than God’s plan of salvation?

[1] Isaiah 40:13

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving and gracious God, strengthen my faith in Your plan of salvation. By Your Spirit, help me to trust that in Your love, all is fair.

         Fairness is a quality that — because of human nature — we have to work on.  Some of us have a desire to Lord it over people that they owe us something.  And we’re more than willing to withhold what they owe us in an effort to show that we are just and fair. 

        The year of Jubilee has not caught on in America.  I also believe it has long since lost its appeal everywhere.  We have gotten to the point that we charge exorbitant interest on loans made and require that people pay the last penny even if it takes more than seven years.  This is all amplified by the lack of fair wages for employees, and unfair interest rates on loans.  And it seems to be true that the poor are paying the rich to remain poor.  It can be said that it’s not fair and it’s not.  However, those who owe have no one to invoke an action of justice that would level the playing field and make fair.  So, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

         Yet if God’s word carried any weight at all with God’s people, debt forgiveness would become a time of celebration, both for those who owe and those to whom a debt is owed.  God has devised a plan in which love of neighbor and relative becomes an act of fairness for all concerned.  It is an act of grace — the same grace that is in effect when it’s time to pay for our sins.  God offers us debt forgiveness through grace — a sure way to ensure that all is fair in love — at least as God would practice it.

• How might an international practice of the year of Jubilee show the fairness of God’s principle of loving our neighbors?
• How might your life be impacted if such an economic plan be put into place?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful God, empower me to act with loving fairness to those who may be indebted to me. Fill me with Your compassion so that my actions show that all is fair in love.

         The late Henri Nouwen, a best-selling author and professor, recalls his first days at L’ Arche, a community for mentally and physically disabled, in Toronto.  He writes:

     “The first thing that struck me when I came to live in a house with mentally handicapped people was that their liking or disliking me had absolutely nothing to do with any of the many useful things I had done until then.  Since nobody could read my books, they could not impress anyone, and since most of them never went to school, my 20 years at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard did not provide a significant introduction.  My considerable ecumenical experience proved even less valuable.  Not being able to use any of the skills that had proved so practical in the past was a real source of anxiety.  In a way it seemed as though I was starting my life all over again.

         In the same way, when we entered the Kingdom of God, all our achievements won't matter.  What God cares about is who we are — do we have faith in him?[1]

         There is a certain inequity is believing that our achievements merit us something.  That’s especially true when we are people of faith and are catapulted into an environment where all of our education becomes meaningless.  And yet, it is a startling wake-up call to the fairness of God’s love.  Neither the challenges of a person’s mental or physical state nor the brilliance of one’s mind disqualifies us from needing God’s unearned love.  God’s grace is the great equalizer to humble all of humanity.  We receive it without doing a thing to earn it — the reward is the same for everyone.

• In what ways does the fairness of God’s love humble you when you realize that nothing you do can earn God’s grace?
• Why if the fairness of God’s love so important for everyone?

[1] Kevin A. Miller, editor and author, Wheaton, Illinois; Gordon MacDonald, “Atmospheric Influences”, Leadership, (Winter 1999), p.32

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Almighty God, humble me to realize that my achievements — however great are small — do nothing to influence Your unmerited love for me. In all circumstances of life, Your love is fair.