Unfairness is Fair

Today I'm pondering the facts of unfairness. I begin by pondering the purpose of the referees and umpires who wear the striped shirts and blow the whistle during all sorts of sporting events. Besides being the recipient of all our yelling...their purpose for being on the court or field of play is for the sole purpose of maintaining fairness in the game. Yet, with all their best efforts, there is one thing for certain...they will not catch every foul, every block in the back, etc. The thing that really levels the playing field is the fact that there will be misses on both sides and therefore the unfairness, is fair.

Life is much like that playing field. As much as I would love to think that life for us all will be fair, I am painfully aware that it is not. This fact is unsettling to me. I want everyone to have a fair shot, the same opportunity, the same advantages. It is especially painful to witness bad breaks happen to good people.

I just came from the funeral of a friend this week. She was still young, only 40 years old, the mother of two young sons and a surrogate mother to hundreds. She was a pastor's wife who lived her life in an impeccable manner, serving others. Five years ago, to the day she died, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She suffered immeasurably. She had multiple major surgeries but the cancer spread from the breasts, to the lungs, bones, liver and other areas. She endured over 100 chemotherapy treatments and the latent sickness that entails. She had a rod placed in her hip to repair bones that broke due to the disease. What in the world is fair about that?

I have witnessed good people who have tried to get ahead in life, which means taking some amount of risk financially, who have found themselves struggling, having to sell almost everything they have to survive. More and more people have filed bankruptcy...good people, with good values and financial responsibility. Yet, due to job losses and the inability to sell their existing homes, these catastrophic things happen. If life and success was based on fairness, these things would have never happened. But, they happen. Life is not fair.

The only fairness in life, is that one day some level of unfairness will come around to all of us. The 'ref' will miss a call concerning my team, and your team too. There is fairness.

In reality, the God of heaven and earth will deal righteously in all matters. Sometimes He heals and sometimes He does not. But in either case, He has it all in control. Our job is to play the game and not whine about all the calls. If we keep the faith, we win...and that is all that really matters.

Treat it Like it's the Last Time

Last week I was called to the hospital room of a friend. He had been ill for a long time. It was obvious to his family and to me that this was his final stay in the hospital. He was dying. As I approached his bed, he rallied enough to see me and respond in non-verbal ways to my presence.

I spoke to him of faith in God, of heaven and of all the comfort I could bring him. I prayed with him and after a rather lengthy stay, as hospital visits go, I knew it was time for me to leave. This was the difficult part, knowing that I had a trip to Texas facing me the next day. It was probable that I would never see him again on this side of eternity. I told him I loved him and in his weak, feeble voice said to me, "I love you too."

The next day we got in the car to drive to the Gulf region of Texas where we would celebrate my mother-in-law's 70th birthday. This was a special occasion because my wife's uncle who lives in Germany, was flying in for the event. He had come to Texas for my mother-in-law's 50th birthday. Upon reflection, I could hardly believe twenty years had flown by so rapidly, but they had. The uncle was now 75 years of age. If things go as usual, this would likely be his last trip to the United States so that made this trip extremely special.

All these 'last time' things caused me to stop and think a bit. You know, we really never know when it will be our last time....last time to be with friends,...last time to worship together,...last holiday,...last chance to say 'I love you', etc. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we began treating one another as if it were the last time. Consider how you would appreciate the time if you knew it would be the last conversation you'd ever have with them. Consider how you would try to convey your sincere love if you knew you'd never get the chance to say it again.

The goodbye in Texas was a tearful one, as everyone knew this may well be the last one. When I arrived back home I learned the "I love you" I heard from my friend, was indeed the last one. Today I preached his funeral service.

Let's not take one another for granted. Everyone, everyday, every moment is precious, especially in light of it being the last time, last conversation, last chance to say, 'I love you'.