Last time when I wrote under the topic of religion I posted an article about truth being fair. Is it? I say no, not always, maybe not most of the time. Is Christianity fair? Absolutely not. I never said it was. But if you take what the bible says literally and seriously like I do, the last thing you want is for God to be fair.
In his book, Stanley speaks of the day fairness died. There was a time when life was fair. Everybody had equal opportunities to access and discover God. They all knew exactly what God's standard was and understood the rules and the consequences for breaking them. Things were perfect and everybody was in the same boat. There was only one commandment issued and it was committed to memory. It wasn't a hard life from the sounds of it.
Of course you recognize this as the time of the Garden of Eden which was a perfect environment created by a perfect God. With the perfect environment came the gift of freedom, specifically the gift to choose. They had the option to obey or disobey. Just like us today, obedience revealed their love and gratitude to God as their creator and provider. Disobedience revealed a lack of trust in God and would result in death eventually.
Stanley says this about this day:
"What happened next is of extreme importance. I realize the entire Garden of Eden story may be nothing more to you than an ancient attempt to explain the origins of mankind. But bear with me a moment while I attempt to explain why Christians believe it to be far more. For herin lies the answer to a question that has plagued you since you were old enough to think for yourself-a question that has no answer apart from this ancient piece of human history.
When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they-not God-introduced sin and all its consequences into their fair, just, and perfect world. In that moment, the possibility for fairness came to an end. From that day forward, men, women, and children have treated one another unfairly. God had two choices: start over, or resort to mercy and grace.
So next time you are frustrated with God over the injustices in the world-or in your world-remember, Christianity offers an explanation. We beieve that the current system was not the original system. It is a distortion of what God intended. God's original design was exactly what you might wish for; It was fair. "
See everybody was equal, and all was fair but then they decided to exercise their right to choose and they chose against God, their creator. Some say it's not fair that we suffer for their actions. Give us a chance and we'd. do.....what? Do the same thing? Yes, we would. Besides, we all can relate to this. Chances are we've all suffered as a result of someone else's poor choices. It wasn't fair but it's the truth. It did happen and it still does happen. How many are out there wandering around hurt by my choices? Are their lives forever impacted because of something I did or didn't do?
Anybody know a deadbeat dad out there or a mom who drinks too much? Maybe doing drugs? How do you think their kids fare? How about all the drunk driving accidents. It's not fair that whole familes have even died because of the choice of one who decided to drink too much and get behind the wheel.
God suffered as well the day that fairness died. Because of what we did as humans, he had to send his own son to die. That wasn't fair was it? It seems logical that we should pay for our own sins, but instead God opted for grace and mercy over fairness when he sent his son to die in our place. He knew no sin yet he took ours upon himself. What an awesome God.
"I don't know how you explain the evil and unfairness in the world. I don't know how you account for bad things happening to good people. Christianity offers both an explanation and a solution. The explanation is that when sin entered the world, life became irreversibly unfair." Stanley.
So what's the solution?