To be a respecter of persons, if you examine Strong’s Concordance for the New Testament number 4382, means to show partiality. One thing that each believer has to understand by faith, because God’s Word declares it to be so, is that God is not a respecter of persons. He loves each of His children equally. He has no favorites or ‘special kids.’ He deals to each one of us the measure of faith that we can draw upon when facing life’s mountains. God assures us that each one of us will receive our ‘due’ reward, even though it doesn’t seem to be that way in this life.
Let me clue you in on a Biblical truth that will set you free when ‘life doesn’t seem fair.’ That is, not all blessings dispensed by the Lord occur in this life. A glimpse of the future glory that God has in store for us is the great equalizer in the midst of our present sufferings. God’s promises are for you, so personalize them.
Matthew 20:1-16 needs to be taken into consideration when dealing with the subject of God’s blessings. God is absolutely sovereign in how He chooses to bless His people, and yet never a respecter of persons. It’s only in our minds that we see things that way, but none of us knows the whole picture. Only Jesus does. We have to be careful lest we find fault with God.
I have to admit I’m glad the Lord doesn’t deal with me on the basis of fairness. If God wanted to be fair, there is no logic behind the cross. What was fair about Calvary? What did Jesus do wrong? Even in His life on earth, if I choose to look at it from the humanist, carnal point of view, why did the King of the universe have to be born into a poor family? (See Luke 2:22-24 and Lev 12:6-8.) Why did He have to borrow a donkey to take Him into Jerusalem?7 It really bothers me to think that Jesus didn’t have a life of ease, and yet somehow I think that I deserve one.
I do not understand all of God’s ways, but I do know that He loves me. Nothing can change that. If He were to bless me with a million dollars it doesn’t mean that He loves me more. We need to get our eyes off of other people’s lives and how God deals with them, and rivet our eyes upon Jesus.
I find it interesting when this “fairness” issue comes up that we tend to compare ourselves with others who have what we lack (a mild term for covet). Why don’t we compare ourselves with the homeless Kurds, or the starving millions in Asia, or the physically handicapped all around us? There’s nothing more sobering than realizing how blessed we really are when compared to the condition of the entire world.
Of course your difficulty today may seem as large as Goliath. I don’t make light of that. However, you need to fight against self-pity because it will profit you nothing, but will make you miserable to be around.
Right now, open your Bible to Psalm 42 and have a mini-retreat with your loving Father. He’s there to help; and, thank God, we meet Him in mercy and grace. That’s not fair; it’s more than we deserve.
