When You Believe in God but Don't Think He's Fair

In our series this morning, we pick up on the question,

when you believe in God, but you don't think he's fair.

Every year, a group of us from churches together in Clevedon

go into Clevedon School and lead a series of RS lessons,

which are basically an introduction to the Christian faith

for everybody in year seven.

One of those lessons is on the subject of suffering

and what Christians believe about how we respond to suffering.

We begin the lesson by getting the class into two teams.

It's usually boys versus the girls, and we do a quiz.

And one team gets a pile of really, really, really easy questions.

The other team gets a pile of really, really obscure and difficult questions.

And it's not normally very far into this activity

before the young people begin to, shall we say,

express their sense that it's not fair.

You see, when we think of suffering,

that's the question that it raises.

Why?

Because life's not fair.

All of us, every human being, whatever culture,

whatever stage in history,

we are wired with a sense of fairness and unfairness,

with a sense of justice.

We hunger for it.

We thirst for it.

There is something in our DNA.

We sense that pain when justice and fairness is not present.

And it's not just about self-preservation either.

We see an injustice going on where somebody else is being treated unfairly.

There is something deep within our being that makes us angry about that.

As a Christian, I believe that that is just a reflection of our Creator,

who is perfect justice.

We'll come on to that in a moment.

But let's just think a bit more about what it is within us

that gives us that sense of craving for fairness and for justice.

It starts at a very, very, very young age.

There was an experiment carried out by psychologists at Yale University

among infants.

And these children were only just old enough to be able to talk,

but the experiment was carried out whereby a child was sat down

and five bars of chocolate were placed on the table in front of them.

And the child was given the instruction that you need to share evenly

the chocolate with an imaginary friend.

So the child begins to say, one for me, one for you, one for me, one for you.

It's not that long before they realise the conundrum.

What do they do with the spare bar of chocolate?

And in the vast, vast majority of cases,

every child who was brought into that situation

would actually express the preference

to throw the remaining bar of chocolate in the bin

rather than either them or their imaginary friend

end up unfairly.

Now, why is that?

Why is it that from the earliest of age,

we have that sense, that inbuilt wiring,

that there is such a thing as fairness

and there's such a thing as unfairness?

And we know the difference between the two.

And we won't rest as long as we see it in our world.

See, life is not fair.

The worst day of my life was when I was eight years old.

It was about five o'clock in the evening.

I was sat watching Blue Peter with my brother.

There was a knock on the door.

We peeked through the curtain.

It was a policeman.

My parents went to the door.

They were gone a very long time.

Eventually, the police went.

The parents came back in.

And the news was broken to my brother and I

that our eldest brother, who was 18 years old,

had been killed that day in a road accident.

You carry that with you your whole life.

And there's not a day that passes by

where I find myself struggling yet again

with that question,

how come I'm alive?

And he's not.

And every single one of us

has something in our lives

in different ways and different shapes

and different forms

where we experience that question.

Why?

Life's not fair.

It's not fair that one person

is born into a situation

where they have far more chance of success

in life than somebody else.

It's not fair that one child is born healthy

and another child is not.

It's not fair that

one child every few seconds

dies of malnutrition.

and others don't.

It's not fair that some people

who treat others terribly

or are just lazy

go through life

and actually life always seems to bless them.

And yet somebody else who is honest,

who has integrity,

who works hard,

life turns out pretty rubbish for them.

It's not fair.

And in case we're tempted to think

that that struggling that we have

doesn't even go acknowledged

within the Bible,

we need to go back and revisit that

because there is lots and lots and lots

of acknowledgement,

of recognition,

and of wrestling with that unfairness

in Scripture.

It's no accident that the book of Job

that is reckoned by many

to possibly be the oldest text

within our Scriptures.

The book of Job tells the story

of a man called Job.

He was a good man.

He was a fair man.

He was a righteous man.

He lived a good life.

He treated others well.

He lived his life with integrity.

And yet, bit by bit by bit,

his life then falls to pieces.

He loses all his wealth

and his possessions.

His family all dying.

And eventually his own health deteriorates.

Now, it's not the end of Job's story,

but it is the story that recognizes,

that engages,

that agonizes over the reality

that life's not fair.

The book of Ecclesiastes,

written by this philosopher

who expresses a sense of unfairness

and injustice.

In chapter 4 it says,

Again, I looked and saw all the oppression

that was taking place under the sun.

I saw the tears of the oppressed

and they have no comforter.

Power was on the side of their oppressors

and they have no comforter.

Life.

Life.

Is not fair.

And the writer of Ecclesiastes

reflects on how they sense

that at times life seems meaningless

as a result.

And it's in the New Testament

and Jesus, as he teaches,

says in Matthew chapter 5

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

that God causes the sun

to rise

on the evil and the good

and sends rain

on the righteous

and the unrighteous.

So if we think for one moment

that the Bible is there

and it doesn't even seem to

recognise the unfairness of life,

we need to think again

because it's not the case.

So life is not fair

and the Bible engages with that.

But let's be really clear.

Life is not fair

does not mean

God's not fair.

And if we go through our lives

and all the fairness

that it deals us

with this idea

that it is God

who is the cause

of that unfairness,

then that will stop us

living the lives

that God wants us to live.

I want you to imagine

that

I just grabbed two volumes.

Julian and John.

Could you just stop?

I'm not going to ask you

to do anything embarrassing.

Just stand here though.

Okay, now I want you to imagine

that a situation

has taken place

between Julian and John.

and let's say

that Julian

has done something

really, really bad.

He owes John

quite a lot of money.

You don't, do you?

I don't think so.

No.

That would be awkward.

And he knows

that he does

but he's not going to own up.

And John finds out

something about Julian

that actually realises

that he's a bit

of a con artist

and he's done this.

He's done it deliberately.

He's really fleeced him.

And not only that,

he's kind of putting around

all kind of untruths

about John.

He's spreading rumours

everywhere he goes

and John picks this up

and he thinks

Julian's really treating him unfair.

And it's not only him

but he's doing it

to everybody else as well.

Now next time

they see each other

out in public,

let's suppose they meet

right here,

it's a Sunday morning

just before the service.

How is John

going to feel about Julian?

Is he going to want

to go up and talk to him?

Is he going to really

want to hang out with him?

Is he going to,

let's say that they're forced

into having to talk

to each other

because they suddenly

find themselves here

by accident

and then they get themselves

into conversation.

Is John going to

open up to Julian

about anything?

Is he going to share

what's on his heart

or mind?

Is he going to entrust him

with anything about himself?

Is he going to confide

in him?

Of course he's not.

Thank you both.

You see,

the reality

in our human relationships,

if we've got it

in our head

that another human being

has treated us unfairly,

we're not going to want

anything to do

with that person.

Now,

if you're carrying around

that set of thoughts

in your heart

and in your mind,

it will radically affect

the way that you

interact or not

with that other person

and the chances are

it's going to rub off

on the way in which

you relate to other people

as well,

whether they have

treated you unfairly

or not.

Now,

if that is the extent

of what happens

when we carry that around

about another human being,

how much more so

does it affect us

when we carry

that set of thoughts

and feelings

around in us

about God?

If it is our conviction

that God is unfair,

that he is unkind,

that he has treated

us unfairly,

that he treats

others unfairly,

you're not going to

draw near to God.

You're not going to

want to confide in God.

You're not going to

share with God

your innermost feelings.

You're not going to

want to pray

and you're not going

to be able

to interact

with others

in a way

that somehow

stands outside

of those feelings

that you have

about God.

If you believe

that God is unfair

and is responsible

for that unfairness,

it's going to

lock things down.

Now, I'm not going

to suggest for one

moment that there

is a simple answer

to this,

because there's not.

But when we look

at the Bible

and when we look

at the way that God

is presented to us,

we see, firstly,

that life is unfair.

But secondly,

we do not see a God

who causes

that unfairness.

We see a God

who enters

into it,

who takes it

on himself,

who engages

with that life

of suffering

and that life

of unfairness.

We do not

have to be

in that place

where we understand

something

in order to believe

in its truth.

death.

And if we're

waiting for that

moment,

in this side

of eternity

at least,

where we feel

that we've got

everything neatly

sorted out

and we understand

how it is

that there is

so much unfairness

in the world,

if we're waiting

for that time

where we think

we're going to

get all of that

sorted out

and stitched up,

we'll have a

very long wait.

God

is

but from the

other side

of eternity

comes the

God of

eternity

and from that

place

enters our

existence

and all its

pain

and all its

suffering.

You may have

heard this

reflection before.

At the end

of time,

billions of

people were

seated on a

great plain

before God's

throne.

Most shrank

back from the

brilliant light

before them

but some groups

near the front

talked heatedly,

not cringing

with cringing

shame

but with

belligerence.

How can

God judge

us?

How can

God know

about suffering,

snapped a

young brunette.

She ripped

open a

sleeve to

reveal a

tattooed

number from

a Nazi

concentration

camp.

We

endured

terror,

beatings,

torture and

death.

In

another

group,

an African

boy lowered

his collar.

What about

this?

He demanded

showing an

ugly rope

burn.

I was

lynched for

no crime

but being

black.

In

another

crowd,

there was

a pregnant

schoolgirl

with sullen

eyes.

Why should

I suffer?

She murmured.

It wasn't

my fault.

Far across

the plain

were hundreds

of such

groups.

Each had

a complaint

against God

for the evil

and suffering

he had

apparently

permitted in

his world.

How lucky

God was

to live

in heaven

where all

was sweetness

and light,

where there

was no

weeping or

fear or

hunger or

hatred.

What did

God know

of all

that humans

had been

forced to

endure in

this world?

For God

leads a pretty

sheltered life

after all.

So each of

these groups

set forth

a leader,

chosen because

he had

suffered the

most.

A

Holocaust

victim,

someone from

Hiroshima,

a sick

child,

a tortured

man.

In the

centre of

the vast

plain,

they consulted

with each

other and

at last

they were

ready to

present their

case.

It was

rather clever.

Before God

could be

qualified to

be their

judge,

God must

endure what

they had

endured.

Their decision

was that God

should be

sentenced to

live on

earth as a

human being.

Let him be

born a

Jew.

Let the

legitimacy of

his birth be

questioned.

Give him a

work so

difficult that

his family

will think

him out of

his mind.

Let him be

betrayed by

his closest

friends.

Let him face

false charges,

betrayed by a

prejudiced jury

and convicted

by a cowardly

judge.

Then let him

be tortured.

At the

last, let him

see what it

means to be

terribly alone.

Then let him

die.

And let there

be no doubt

that he died

an ugly

death.

let there

be a great

host of

witnesses to

verify it.

As each

of the

leaders

announced

their portion

of the

sentence,

loud murmurs

of approval

went up from

the throng of

people assembled.

When the

last had

finished

pronouncing

sentence,

there was a

long silence.

no one

uttered a

word,

no one

moved,

for suddenly

everyone

knew that

God had

already served

his sentence.

sentence.

We don't

have to

understand

something

in order

to believe

in it.

But the

idea that

we have in

our hearts,

in our minds,

of what God

is like

will determine

the way in

which we go

about our

lives in

relation to

God and

in relation

to each

other.

And my

question to

you is,

do we

have even

any hint

in that

understanding

of God

that he

just might

be unfair?

Because as

long as we

do, things

will be jammed

up.

We won't

be able to

move forward.

I want to

think about

and pray about

that in just

a moment.

As we do,

I want to

share with

you one

last image.

Earlier

this month,

somebody

called

Denise,

I'm going

to pronounce

this wrong,

I know,

Denise

Muller-Koronek

broke the

world land

speed record

on a bike.

Can we have

a picture?

When I say

a bike,

I mean a

pedal cycle,

not a

motorcycle.

Denise,

she's 45

years old,

and she

pedaled

at 183.9

miles an

hour.

To give you

some idea,

she did this

over a course

of 3.5

miles.

That's

roughly the

same take-off

speed of a

Boeing 747.

Now, in

case you're

thinking, it's

not an

ordinary bike,

although it

is in Utah

across the

Salt Plains.

She was

towed along

by a

dragster racer

across the

Salt Flats,

and you can

see the

cable that's

attached to

her bike.

That towed

her up to

about 100

miles an

hour, at

which point

she flicked

a switch,

the cable was

released, and

she pedaled

to the rest

almost additional

90 miles an

hour on top

of that.

Now, obviously,

she's pretty

good at

cycling, but

the bike's no

ordinary bike.

The bike has

fixed gears.

It's a gear

ratio that is

so steep that

it is impossible

to pedal until

those wheels are

travelling at

100 miles an

hour.

Hence, the

need to be

towed along up

into that

speed.

But once it

reaches that

speed, the

gears kick in.

And I wouldn't

say they do all

the work, of

course they

don't, but

they do an

awful lot.

Now, I just

want to hold

on to that

image.

Imagine you

get on that

bike and you

try to pedal

it.

It will be as

though the

gears have been

welded tight.

They won't

budge.

It would be

impossible if

you just

try to

move forward.

As long as

we have an

idea in our

minds that

God is

unfair, that's

where our

life is.

We can move

through our

lives with this

sense that,

yes, there is a

God.

We believe in

God.

But as long as

we have it as

part of that

belief that God

is unfair, we're

not going to

move.

Only when

you're given

that toe, when

you're given

that pull up

to the 100

miles an

hour, only

when you

experience that

move that

comes from the

external source,

when God's

spirit engages

in your life and

shows you his

reality in a

way that we

can't understand

but nevertheless

know is real,

then we move.

And sometimes

we can look at

some of these

heroes of faith

that we read and

hear amazing

things about them.

We think, how

on earth did that

person get through

that and still

believe in God?

It's not a

question of how

they got through

it and still

believed in God.

It's because they

believed in God

but believed that

God was not

unfair, that they

were able to

peddle.

And because of

the reality of God

in their lives, by

the dynamic

presence of his

Holy Spirit, that

was beyond that

sense of

understanding, that

not only did

they begin to

move, but they

were able to do

the most

extraordinary

things.

And so what I

want us to do

now is to pray.

We're going to

pray and, you

know, every

single one of us

has experienced

unfairness at

some point.

And it might be

now that as we

come to pray, as

you think about

unfairness as a

theme, you might

be thinking of

something that has

happened a long

time ago in your

life or in the

life of somebody

else you know.

It might be an

experience of

unfairness that is

present, live, and

active now.

It might be a

sense of insecurity

or anxiety over a

feeling that you're

not sure of but you

think that unfairness

could be out there

somewhere.

But what I want to

suggest is as long

as we have alongside

that unfairness, and

everyone, everyone

without exception

experiences something

in life like this, but

as long as we are

carrying in our

hearts and in our

minds this sense that

actually God is to be

blamed for that

unfairness, it's like

trying to move

forward on a bike

that's welded fast.