Fairness?

Posted on 29-Sep-2013

Write up by Lance Corporal Nathan Chan of 10th Kuala Lumpur Company
 
10th KL's Awards Day has passed. From a members view, some of us are satisfied, having gotten the awards we have desired for a long time. On the other hand, there would be others who may have been disappointed by apparent failures. It is not uncommon some complain about the apparent unfairness of the awards giving, as it sometimes seems to be that way. Apparently lazy members get coveted rewards, while hardworking ones seem to get left out in the rewards.

As much we try to avoid such matters, we are still humans. We will still make mistakes. Minimizing these mistakes is the best we can do. Try as we might, these will never fully disappear. It’s just one of the sad truths of life. Life is, and will never be fair.Fairness has become the judging factor of our society. If something isn’t fair, it’s viewed as wrong or incorrect. We have went from ensuring equal opportunity to ensuring equal outcome. We have become a culture that demands fairness at every moment, in every way possible.

The problem? Surprising as it may be, fairness is not a biblical concept. God is said to be just, but no where in the Bible does it say he is fair. A quick search showed that there are only 8 instances that the Bible used the word “fair”. 5 of the 8 are used in terms of judging others fairly. In Matthew 20:1-16, the parable of the workers in the vineyard, we see workers being paid the same wage, regardless of how long they worked. Additionally, if God was fair, wouldn’t why would he bother with redeeming us?

It is not uncommon that we make our decisions so that we are fair. Perhaps we should rethink how we make decisions so that we make them not according to what is fair, but what glorifies the Almighty One. Perhaps the concept of “one down all down” is not that bad afterall.
 
 
 
Page Created: 29th September 2013
Last Updated: 29th September 2013