Life’s not fair!

Life's not fair! 
 But who told you it would be?

Maybe it's better this way?

Life's not fair!

Not exactly a news flash, is it? 
 Everyone knows that.

And we can all go on and on about why it isn't fair.  Especially why it isn't fair to us.
And, we probably throw in something about God not being fair to us.  Maybe even that He abandoned us.  Or that He doesn't really exist.  
But first, this one's a bit special.  

I was responding to someone's post last night who was questioning God.  Very much along the lines of Him not being fair.  Actually - more like being cruel.  I'll post a link, if it's OK with the author.  (I really hope you, the author, do come over and read this.)

Anyway - after exchanging a couple replies, I included this -

I’m working on a post to that effect now – probably will be ready tomorrow. Maybe He prompted me to write it today – just for you? How would that make you feel? I am quite sure He’s put people I my life when I needed them. What if your post was prompted by Him to get this all started? Coincidence, or God trying to reach you?

As some of you know, I'm slowly moving my old site over here in the midst of adding new stuff.  Yesterday afternoon, I really did feel led to update this particular one - Life's not fair!  Didn't have time to finish it, so I figured I'd do it today.  Then last night, I came across the other post and responded.  And now we're here.

For those of you reading this who are Christians, I'd like to ask you to pray for this person.  

So - here it is.  The original was written in May 2012.  
As usual, updates will be in rust colored italics.

Of course,what I'm looking for tonight is what does the Bible say about life being fair.

The first instance can be found in the Prologue to Proverbs:

Prologue: Purpose and Theme
Pr 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
Pr 1:2 for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;
Pr 1:3 for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;
Pr 1:4 for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—
Pr 1:5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—
Pr 1:6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

OK - there's the key word - fair -
but after a couple other words -

doing what is right and just and fair

So it seems that the concept of fairness can't be removed from "right" and "just".  And that makes sense.  All of these words imply some sense of values.  Fairness can't really be evaluated without also looking at what is right or wrong.  It also cannot be evaluated without some concept of justice: rewards for doing right; penalties for doing wrong.  All of life is based on this.  The problem is - all too often, the one with the most power get's to decide what's right and what's wrong.  Not to mention that justice is in the eye of the beholder. And reality doesn't always have anything to do with what's conceived of as being right, just, or fair.

Now - it's also true that with God - He has the power.  He also decides what's right, just, and fair.  The difference, and this is where faith comes in, is that His concepts of these three terms are pure.  We have trouble with that.  We're used to either being victimized by "justice", or being able to circumvent "justice", depending on who we are and how much power and authority we hold over others.  That all goes away with God.  We will never be able to circumvent His justice.  Now the question becomes - is that a good thing?

With that in mind, let's keep going - maybe it'll get "better".

The next instance is still in Proverbs -

Pr 2:9 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.

Pr 2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

Pr 2:11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.

In the first set of verses, we saw that they weren't about fairness to us, but rather about us being right and just and fair to others.