[333 words]
Is life fair? Do we always have our needs met? It seems like in life we expect to be able to control every thing that happens to us. In a recent Oklahoma high school football game, the referees mistakenly erased a go-ahead touchdown because of an erroneous assessment of a penalty. The coach and the school district have stated, “It’s not fair that these young people should be punished because of a mistake by the adult referees.” They have even filed legal action in district court to try to force the game to be replayed.
Regardless of whether one believes that the football team was shortchanged or whether one believes “that ‘s just the way the cookie crumbles,” one should be able to see that this situation occurred because an adult coach did not have the self-control to stay off the field when the ball was live.
At the judgment scene presented in Matthew 25, there was a group of people who were told that they could not enter into heaven because they had not performed their duties. Their response, “It’s not fair.” (Matt. 25:44-45). “Then they also will answer Him, saying ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘ Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”‘
Spiritually, we control our own destiny as we live our lives. What we do with our life matters. Many of life’s circumstances I can’t control. I can’t control the actions of others, environmental factors such as the weather, or even some of the situations I find myself in. I can however control whether I feed and clothe the stranger, or whether I minister to the sick and those in prison. Control what you can and leave the rest to God.
Ken Hamilton
Church of Christ
Granite, OK