We human beings are big thinkers and even bigger judges.
We categorize, classify, pigeonhole, and compartmentalize so that everything fits into neat little packages informing us of what is just and what is unjust. We find it frightening or almost impossible, as Martin Luther King, Jr once said, "to become tough-minded enough to break loose from the shackles of prejudice, half-truths, and downright ignorance" because to do so would expose the truth that life's not fair. And we desperately want to believe that it is. There is an element of arrogance in such hope, because it assumes that things are supposed to work out and the 'game' is to be played by one unique set of rules. This is a setup for bitter disappointment.
My grandchildren are at a stage where they're trying to figure out what's fair and what isn't. The second grader has pretty clear thoughts on the matter. She doesn't like it when one kid is praised and another is not. It bothers her that one person has a lot of comforts and others are homeless.
The kindergartener's idea of fairness is still rather limited as to whether things tilt to her benefit or not. They are both developing the way they should. But as they tell us what is unfair, it strikes me that my own notions of fairness have changed quite a bit over time.
When I was thirteen, President Kennedy was assassinated. My grief that such a good man could be taken away was overwhelming. This was so senseless and unfair. It became obvious to me that people were capable of gross injustice. Jews had been exterminated in concentration camps. One race of people had been almost wiped out and another enslaved in this country for no reason other than greed or economic advantage. I was indignant about such things. And remain so...but with a twist.
I have come to believe that if something reeks of injustice, the only way to get rid of the smell is to do something about it. It is my responsibility to 'do the next right thing' rather than gripe and complain. I also arrived at the conclusion that I don't necessarily have the answers as to what is fair.
Dr. King, as well as others, told us that the arc of the moral universe is long, but that it bends toward justice. While it may appear that life has been overly generous to some and very stingy with others, there is a power greater than ourselves nudging us in the right direction. I can say with certainty that God does not abandon us.
What seems awful and unfair right now might just be a course correction leading to what God intended for us in the first place. Perhaps it's all as simple as the Golden Rule. But even more fundamental is the certainty that if each and every one of our actions is grounded in love we’ll have done God's work. At that point we will be able to say that while life might not always seem fair, it is wonderful nonetheless.