So now we come to the point of fairness. We rarely seem to debate the "only good people go" to heaven theory because that does seem fair to us. The "Jesus is the only way" belief is not quite so fair in our estimations because it seems......well.....so dogmatic. How can that be fair? On the surface it may seem unfair and Christians sometimes do feel uncomfortable saying so. It's hard to be dogmatic about anything nowadays anyway.
Stanley's punchline to all this is "Christianity is the fairest possible system in a world that is irreversibly unfair." Ha, spoken by a true Christian. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!! I know that's what you're thinking.
But think about it. How fair is believing in a system predicated upon adhering to a list of rules we can't seem to find given to us by a God who hasn't been kind enough to explain the system to us? How fair would your kids say you were if you came down on them after they broke rules that you never explained to them beforehand?
Does something have to be fair to be true? Don't we dismiss Christianity because we deem it's not fair? But does that mean it can't be true? Are we using fairness as a test for truth? Do we dismiss the words of Christ because we believe he's not telling the truth because he doesn't seem fair?
How do we pick the church/religion we go to? Is it based on truth? Or is it based on what we like or how we were raised or maybe it's what makes me comfortable? Maybe it's just for the simple reason I can get something out of it. It suits me. Shouldn't we choose our belief system because it's based on truth?
I know, I know. Truth is not popular nowadays. I get it. But once you decide that there is a forever after this life you are staking that on what you choose to believe is true. It's not pleasant I know, but something can be absolutely unfair and true at the same time. We shouldn't believe what is true based on fairness. Most of us know what it's like to be on the other side of unfairness. How many have received a bad grade that wasn't fair? Maybe the teacher didn't even look closely at the project. Maybe the teacher likes boys, and you just happened to be a girl. It happens. Is it fair? Nope. Is it true that you received a C instead of the A that was worthy of the input? So fairness is not necessarily truth.
How about in sports? How many umpires or refs do you see make unfair calls? Did it happen? Yes. It's true....little Bobby struck out it's true. But it sure wasn't fair.
Many walk away from Christianity because they deem it unfair. Because it's unfair, they say, it isn't true. Is that fair?
The initial appeal of the "good people go" system seems to be perfectly fair. But when you really look, it's not really fair at all. But is it true? We all have to decide that for ourselves. The trouble is there are hundreds of diff versions out there on this. You have the Hindu version, the Mormon version, the Muslim version, the Jewish version etc. They each have their own list of to do's to enter heaven and they each in turn have their own prophets that will tell you how to do this getting their direct revelation from God.
Christianity stands out in this respect. it's not about fairness at all but about forgiveness. What we see in Christianity is God laying aside fairness and instead indulged us with his mercy and grace. As you may know, grace is something we receive but DON'T deserve, and mercy is not receiving what we DO deserve.
Don't we say to our kids all the time..."Life isn't fair" in response to their little hissy fits? But do we believe it? When they say that to us isn't it usually because they are not receiving what they want? Don't we usually, when it comes to ourselves, demand fairness but when it's not about us say...."well life isn't fair."
Do you demand fairness when your child recieved a "ball" when it should have been a "strike?" Do you jump to your feet and yell, "hey that's not fair. He deserved a strike. It was right over the plate?" Huh? You don't do that? You don't demand fairness in this situation? Why not? Is it because you were content with mercy? I bet the dad of the pitcher felt differently. I bet he was furious.
Think about it. How often do you demand fairness when you get more than your share? Yes, it happens but not often. Sometimes we do jump to the aid of others because we feel they didn't get their fair shake. But in all reality how often do we do this? Is it often enough that we are willing to redistribute our wealth to put everyone on a level economic playing field? No? Why is that?
Is it because.....life just isn't fair?
next time.......let's think this thru.