For as long as I can remember I have loved playing the game of football. So much so, in fact, I can recall my brother and I playing in slow motion in the living room, he’s at the 50, the 30, the 10, touchdown, or tackling each other just short of a fictitious goal line as we mimicked our favorite teams and players (mom I know you’re listening, I don't think we broke anything). Growing up, just outside of Fort Worth, Texas (Carswell AFB) (no I'm not a cowboy's fan), at the age of seven or eight, we'd play football in a vacant lot just across the street every weekend, I ran, and ran, until I was breathless, to escape being caught (I was Mercury Morris fast, but still not as fast as my sister, Rhonda). All the kids were often older than I (my brothers age), and they never threw me the ball. I would cry, and my brother would comfort me, however on the two or three occasions they threw me the ball, that year, one of two things transpired, I either dropped the ball, or mystifyingly ran the wrong way or out of bounds as a means of escape. Yes, I was quick (lightening fast) (zoom, zoom), but at that time I lacked the skills to fully understand the intricate nature of the game. I would object and pout after each game, declaring; "that's not fair".
Today’s podcast is titled.
That’s Not Fair
James 1:12
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Each of us have faced situations in life that we consider unfair and ever so often no matter how distant in the past, we are reminded, reminiscent of the suffering, sorrow, hurt, anguish and hardship we’ve endured; a scholarship opportunity, an unjust accusation, a lost job opportunity, an accidental wound, failing health, shattered relationships, hurtful words, or the ill-timed loss of a loved one. As we look about and compare circumstances we give great consideration to the scales of fairness, considering those in life to be unbalanced, as we commonly see those that full of ill-will and deceitfulness reaping all the earthly benefits of success, leaving us to wonder, pause and grumble within ourselves saying, that's no fair. We fight to find parity or any semblance of evenness, nonetheless, it is in vain, and at best misplaced. In doing so, by forcing what was not intended to happen, by our own hand, according to our will we often find ourselves out of alignment and out of favor with where God has purposefully and intently placed us.
What is this nature within us, that we are so seldom satisfied, always yearning, constantly desiring more? I ask, what is beyond the horizon that we seek, finding ourselves discontented with the present moment? Yes, He has a plan for our future, but we cannot get there unless we live through, and endure the lessons of today, finding contentment without complaint in the abundance of God's grace and favor towards us this day. How can we justly determine what is or is not fair? If God commanded the lilies to grow, and the winds to blow upon the billowing seas, if he watered each blade of grass, and caused the streams and rivers to flow from the mountaintops, if he caused the animals of the desert to satisfy their thirst, if he has numbered the hairs upon our head, and ordered every breath, it is considerable for us to believe that he alone, all by himself is in complete and utter control.
