God's Not Fair...

You never see able-bodied basketballers play against those in wheelchairs and in sports like golf, there is something called the 'handicap' in order to level out the playing field. But if you really think about it, is it really 'fair'? I mean who is to judge whether this guy was actually putting in his best effort or not? He could have gotten on the wrong side of the bed or maybe the wind was blowing the opposite direction? Communism tried and failed to bring about equality in society simply because 'a man's heart is deceitful about all things'.. and greed ultimately prevails despite the best humanistic effort to change that!

But God is JUST. So what's the difference between the two? Huge indeed! God holds us accountable for the things we already HAVE and not we DON'T have. If you don't have hands, He doesn't expect you to clap but you can jump for joy.. if you don't have a voice, He doesn't expect you to sing but rather be still and know that He is God.. If you don't have eyes, He still wants you to hear His words and obey them.. Basically God calls us to worship Him with ALL our heart, soul, strength and mind.. the 4 elements we need in order to live and survive.. no matter how much or little of each there may be...

Wealth:
The Bible has many comparisons between the rich and the poor.. Jesus Himself was born into a poor family at the stables.. a carpenter by trade and an itinerant preacher. His initial disciples were mostly poor and uneducated, with the exception of Matthew the tax collector and Paul perhaps? He said, 'The poor you will always have with you' (Matt26:11).. which meant there would always be a discrepancy in the distribution of wealth in the world. Jesus praised the poor widow who gave all she had albeit it was only 2 copper coins (Mrk12:41-44), while the rich folks gave out of their abundance (we're talking about percentages here.. 100% vs 1%?). In the end, the tables were turned in the case of Lazarus and the rich man (Lk16:19-31).. the former suffered briefly on earth but was comforted for eternity in heaven. The rich young ruler couldn't do Jesus asked of him (Lk18:18-30).. therefore, always REMEMBER that 'it's HARD for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven'...

Talents:
Does the Parable of the Talents (Matt25:14-30) mean that those who have more will be blessed with even more? 10 become 20, 5 become 10 but the 1 measly 'talent' becomes zero? If you think about it carefully, the ONE talent had the potential of becoming 2.. 4.. 8.. 16.. 32.. 64.. in due time IF it had been used instead of buried in the first place??? Ultimately, we will have to answer for every ability and every bit of wisdom and time God has given us..

Health:
This is probably the most difficult one cos it hits where it hurts.. literally. I wonder if I could remain strong like Job when his body was ravaged by disease, all his children died and he lost everything he had. Would I have faith like that of blind Bartimaeus (Mrk10:46-52) or the paralysed man's friends (Mrk2:1-12) and expect healing from God? I guess there are some things which will take a life time and beyond to understand? So if we ever were to ask God the question 'Why me?'.. be prepared to stand speechless before the Almighty when He answers us out of the storm.. 'Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Who marked off its dimensions? Have you ever given orders to the morning? Have you ever seen the gates of the shadow if death? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?' (Job38-41). I pray my response will be.. 'My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes' (Job42:1-6)...