Fair...Is It a Good Thing? by Tony Manley

Is it good to be called fair? Is it better to be called just? As a teacher, I hear and say the word fair many times and in many circumstances. Being fair can be tricky. Fair can be driven by emotions, the information available at the time, and expectations of others. So is fair the best way in life?

As a Christian, I have the truth - God is just. Because God is not limited in His information, driven by others’ expectations, or swayed by emotions changing like shadows, I can know that what He does is just – right, correct, good, perfect. God’s just heart is so much better than fair. The second week of the Bible study I am working through deals so well with the truth that God is not fair; He is just. I am so thankful for His justice versus fairness.

Teaching is an area where I encounter the word fair a lot! Teachers and parents are notorious about fair in the world of learning! I am a proponent of fair also. But when I know something that is coming in a child’s educational life that is going to challenge him/her, it is my responsibility to see that the student is prepared when he/she encounters it. The tricky part of teaching is there is a system of education balanced with the differences of students and then meshing those two things together! The process of attaining success may be difficult and even feel unfair. Thus, the interpretation of fair is questioned and can even be devisive. This is where just enters into the picture of education and parenting! To have a heart full of just, is to have a heart that can see what is needed more than what is hard and then to continue working with the process of preparing. What one needs  should trump what is hard!

God’s heart of just is always good. He knows what each life will need to be like Jesus and He knows the process will be hard. He knows each life’s bents, weaknesses, backgrounds, current settings, tomorrows, and even each excuse. God’s character is perfect thus God’s ways are just – guided by truth – complete truth.

Knowing God is just – guided by complete truth – is the basis for why my life is to be driven by gratitude, forgiveness, and fruit. There is a rest that results from believing God is just in the good, bad, and ugly of my life’s events.

“I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because EVERYTHING HE DOES IS RIGHT AND ALL HIS WAYS ARE JUST.” Daniel 4:37