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TITLE: BUT THAT'S NOT FAIR!!!!

Subtitle: Have You Ever Been Tempted To Accuse God Of Wronging You?

The concept of right and wrong is a subject of great interest. Countless books have been written about principles of ethics and how men should interact with each other, but such values often vary along cultural lines. Great offense is sometimes taken because of a totally innocent comment or gesture by someone ignorant of the local "rules." And due to the fact that these perceived breaches of acceptible behavior can lead to upset feelings,  it should be a topic of concern for us all.

Inappropriate conduct is behind the enactment of most rules and regulations, because good behavior has never made any necessary! If we lived in a perfect world, the "Thou shalt not" commandments of God would not exist. But due to the fact of our depraved and fallen nature, we must adhere to His standards if anarchy is to be avoided. In the Old Testament God selected and made the nation of Israel His witness to the rest of humanity. And in doing so He gave them the Law of Moses--His perfect standard for ethical and moral conduct. Then Israel's Messiah Jesus Christ came and reduced the Law to its very essence:

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment. [39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV, emphasis mine).

My friends, if we truly loved God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and loved our neighbors to the same degree we love ourselves, it would be heaven on earth. BUT WE DO NOT! Those rules actually condemn us because we do not measure up to the perfection He requires. That is why we desperately need a Savior.

When my oldest daughter was small and discipline was required, quite often her response would be, "That's not fair!" From her limited perspective she did not view her behavior as being bad. But even though we smile knowingly when recalling such memories, we should realize our perspective of God the Father is also limited! We know from the Bible that He will inflict punishment  upon us: (1) when we need to be disciplined (Heb.12:6) and (2) for reasons beyond our comprehension, will at times allow "bad things" to happen to us when we have done nothing wrong (Job, chapters 1 and 2). To endure chastening when we know it has come as the result of our sin is one thing, but to quietly suffer when we have no clear understanding of specific wrongdoing is another! Our flesh wants to cry out to God, "That's not fair!" But obviously our concept of fairness is not the same as God's:

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. [8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. [9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:7-9 (KJV, emphasis mine).

Those of us who try to understand God and assume He operates according to principles that always make sense to us are making a huge mistake! Life sometimes puts us in the position of being tempted to ask, "Why me, Lord?" And from the Word of God His answer comes back, "Why not you?"

"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" Philip. 1:29 (KJV).

 "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" 2 Tim. 3:12 (KJV).

Genuine Christianity stands totally apart from all "religions" in the respect that God promises His children very little of a tangible nature. So those who insist God will make you rich if you give a certain amount of "seed" money to their particular ministry are dead wrong! "Name it and claim it" ministries are totally unscriptural because they attempt to usurp promises God made to Old Testament Israel. Nowhere in the New Testament will one be able to find anything faintly resembling such teaching. We must be careful to rightly divide the Word of Truth, because failures to do so result in people being upset when such things as their "investments" do not return the "forty, fifty, or one hundred fold" promised by the preacher. If approached by a fleeced and disgruntled sheep, he can always hide behind the handy smokescreen of "lack of faith" and spend every nickel of your hard-earned money without a pang of conscience. Unscrupulous apostate preachers are springing up everywhere like the weeds (tares) they are and God's people had best be on guard to avoid being taken in by one (or more) of them. Never be guilty of believing anything I, or any other preacher, says without making sure it conforms to the Word of God. And even if what is taught appears to be totally Scriptural, pray that the Holy Spirit will give you needed insight and protection from error--because preachers with the best of intentions make mistakes of interpretation.

When problems of life beset you (notice it is not "if," but when!) and the temptation to think you have been unfairly treated pops into your mind--take time to consider what is actually doing the thinking! That wad of gray matter between our ears called a brain is a marvelous computer but its "software"--its programming--has been seriously damaged. We inherited a depraved nature from Adam and our ability to see things as they really are is minimal. That is why the Book of Proverbs says so much about God's people gaining wisdom--the ability to see things as God sees them.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever" Psalm 111:10 (KJV).

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction" Proverbs 1:7 (KJV).

If we are to have true wisdom and knowlege, God must reveal it to us through His Word..

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV, emphasis mine).

We err terribly when we "lean to our own understanding" and attempt to assess what life throws at us as being unfair.

Do you think it was "fair" for God to send His Son Jesus Christ to this earth for the sole purpose of dying as a sacrifice for sin? Was it fair that the pure and innocent Son of God literally became sin while on the cross (2 Cor.5:21) and received in Himself the undiluted wrath of God against sin?  Was it fair for Him to hunger and thirst and live a life of poverty?

Would I not be correct in saying that without proper spiritual insight each of us would unhesitatingly protest and claim He was treated unfairly?

So when life inevitably brings forth a situation that violates our comfort zone and we are tempted to cry out to God thinking we have been unfairly treated--just stop and consider what it is we are thinking with! (Not good English, but you get the point).

 "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not" Lament. 3:22 (KJV).

My friend, the only reason any of us are still breathing is due to God's grace. And no matter how bad your present situation may appear to be, or could become in the future--just pause and consider all the Lord Jesus Christ endured to set us free!

If you have been born again and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.

If you have never placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but have come to sense His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to receive His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can do so now, in the privacy of your home. Once you truly believe in Him as Lord and Savior, you are spiritually Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then, you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually. If you would like to become Born Again, turn to our Salvation Page now.

We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and warn people, so that they can see the coming New World Order—Kingdom of Antichrist—in their daily news.

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Cutting Edge Ministries, C/O Pastor Ron Riffe
P.O. Box 26
Gordo, AL 35466

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God bless you.