Is God Really Fair?

As we all know and have experienced, life is not always fair.  Whether you were blamed for something that you did not do or if someone did not reciprocate the type of treatment or response that you extended to them, we've all been there and it hurts.

Last week, in one of our small group studies, the comment was made that "being a Christian is not fair, and we just have to deal with that in our daily walk."  I giggled on the inside because I made that exact statement a few years ago; however, this recurring premise has prompted me to share these observations.  

Ecclesiastes 9:11, NASB reads, "I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all."  Furthermore, Proverbs 16:11, NASB reads, "A just balance and scales belong to the LORD; All the weights of the bag are His concern."

Therefore, according to Ecclesiastes 9:11, there will often be times where you feel that you deserve something and do not receive it; but of course that is based upon a self-appointment of entitlement, in which when it does not manifest causes you to become separated from it, hence becoming "disappointed."  Yes...in order to be disappointed, you have to consent to the likelihood of an idea, even if the promise was made by someone else.

Furthermore, according to Proverbs 16:11, God alone is the ultimate source of justice and fairness; and when we judge, as believers, it is with our limited knowledge of God's nature and with the errancy and fallibility of our logic.

The concept of human fairness is limited to our limited knowledge, wisdom and understanding.  This also means that whatever we consider to be fair or unfair will always have limited references and in turn can never account for all things nor be completely accurate.  With that being said, God is the only one who has total understanding of His plan. It seems only wise to believe in His sovereignty of what He allows to happen.     

In conclusion, there will be things that will happen that seem obviously unfair from a human perspective; but that perspective is limited. God's totality is not limited.  If God allows it to happen, then it, in itself, is fair and just; and necessary in carrying out His plan. 

  As always, thank you for your commitment to support, pray and uphold this ministry.  You know I cannot do it alone. I am truly thankful to have you on our team.

P.S.  I encourage you to keep these letters and a few months from now revisit them.

Dear Friends:                                                                                                                          

Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has informed him?  With whom did He consult, and who gave Him understanding, and who taught Him in the path of justice, and taught Him knowledge, and informed Him in the way of understanding?   Isaiah 40:13-14   For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8-9 

            There are times when I try to figure out God's ways.  I cannot.  His understanding is inscrutable.  His ways are beyond anything I can ask or think.  But there are times in my sinful, human, finite condition that I just want to know.  What is God thinking? What is God doing right now?

Recently I have had a rash of people, dear friends that are suffering with pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, bone cancer as well as damage to the spinal column.  I have friends that have lost jobs or their children can't find one.   There is corruption and lack of leadership in government and business.  Plus I am being bombarded by an immoral and a perverse agenda by my own country, that I believe God wants to use for His Glory.  What is happening? 

The Christian life is a never ending quest to know God better.  We seek to be faithful men and women who serve Him.  We seek to please Him by our faith.  As a friend before he died with cancer said, "I always wanted to go with God through the deep waters."  God knows we get to know Him better, we glorify Him more, and our relationship with Him becomes sweeter, when all the supports are taken out.  I don't like it.  I am not comfortable with it.  But when God strips away the things we cling to or depend on, it causes us to depend on Him. 

What has amazed and motivated me is how these friends have responded to these crises.  One friend said of His Savior, "You are the only solid rock on which I can stand, You are the only real security I have, You are the only One who can deliver me from this or through this.  And He is doing that.  My strength is not my faith, but His faithfulness."  What a response to our great God and to His gracious dealings with us even in the midst of difficulties, trials, disease, hurt, economic downturns, loss of jobs, victories and joys.  I pray I will respond as gratefully as he has.

Here is an update on our last few weeks.  We had a very successful fundraiser with our Sporting Clays even though the attendance was down.  People still gave and we are very grateful.  We have started two new studies with twenty or more men as a result of our last banquet.  Plus we are still getting with people who came to the Mike Gottfried Banquet.  Many will be in future studies. 

Our mentoring program is doing well and we continue to match men one on one.  We are gearing up for our Golf Tournament November 9^th with close to eighteen teams. 

Our Couples Banquet will be one of the highlights this year with Spike and Rica McRoy.  Rica was born and raised in India.  It will be quite a story.  And we are adjusting our 5 year plan in light of where we are as a ministry in this economy.        

As always I am so grateful and thankful for you my prayerful supporters and friends.  Thank you for your response this year in praying for us and giving to us.  Pray for men in our cities, their families and their careers as we seek to minister to them. 

Let me close with a quote from the book When Grace Comes Home by Terry L. Johnson.  "What practical difference does God's sovereignty and grace make?  The first one is vital to all the rest.  It will make you into a worshiper.  When you come to realize that the God who is there is not subject to your desires, that He is sovereign over your eternity, when you come to realize the greatness of His mercy and grace, you will begin to long for genuine worship - worship that prostates you and exalts God."  May you and I humbly worship this great God.

Dear Friends:                                                                                                              

Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account

Leadership is quite a responsibility.  In Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading Harvard faculty members Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky declare, "For all its passion and promise, for all its excitement and rewards, leading is risky, dangerous work."  The prophet Micah confronts leaders for taking bribes, violent injustice, twisting the truth and giving false hope.  Yet our Nation and God's work calls out for strong leaders.  What should we look for in a leader?

The indispensible requirement is the power of the Holy Spirit.  Humility and servant leadership are prevalent throughout the whole of Scripture.  These qualities stand out.  But let me point out two others that recently have caught my attention - trust and being approachable.

Recently we were interviewing a guy for YBL and he was asked is there any reason he would not follow someone.  He stopped for a minute and said "That's a great question; I know I would need to trust him.   He would need to be a role model and I would have to trust his motives and his actions because of his character."  It was a strong answer.

Approachability is another key factor.  Although leaders cannot be friends to all, there should be a willingness to learn, to improve, to accept criticism and encouragement.  Again in Leadership on the Line it says, "Once you lose your ability to doubt, you'll see only that which confirms your own competence."  "In ancient Rome, the emperors had a man stand close to them at all times whose job was to remind them of their mortality." (pp. 170, 173)  In an article in September's Fortune magazine on the airline JetBlue it says  "This approachable CEO says the airline's friendly relationship with its crew members is what sets it apart."  If you are not approachable no one will ever challenge you or help you see you are mortal and flawed. 

Our Senior Pastor has written a book on leadership and his three maxims are: Leaders know their mission and are committed to it; they take care of their people and they reproduce themselves.  Think of great coaches and military leaders you know or have known.  They are willing to heap all the praise when they win a battle or a game on the players or the other coaches.  But when there is a loss or things don't go as planned they take the blame themselves.   They don't leave their people to fend for themselves.  They lead, they take care of their people and they model what they want reproduced.  So you can see why the writer of Hebrews says obey your leaders and submit to them.  It is a hard job. 

I would ask you to pray for the follow-up from our outstanding banquet with ESPN Analyst and Director of Team Focus Mike Gottfried.  We had close to 200 men attended and now we are following up with 70 of them.  Twenty five men   have requested studies or more information on Christ. 

Thank you for your continued stand with us in prayer, involvement and finances.  It is critical we end the year strong and you are a vital part of that endeavor.

I will close with the article from Fortune  again.  CEO Barger of JetBlue said, "It's the culture that can't be replicated.  It's how we treat each other.  Do we trust each other?  Can we push back on each other?  The human side of the equation is the most important part of what we are doing."  I love it when businesses and leaders practice what Paul says in Philippians 2:3 consider one another as more important than ourselves.           

 Keeping a Winning Attitude

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB

As we all know, events in our economy over the past few months have been unfavorable.  For some, the events have been derailing, and for others the events have fertilized already problematic areas. Whether it has created tension or stress, developed uncertainty or encouraged caution, none of us have been unaffected.

The past couple of weeks, I have been asking those brothers with whom I have met and prayed, what percentage of their prayer is for strength?  Interestingly, nearly all of them said that “strength” occupied at least 40 percent of their prayer. Wow!  Knowing this information has re-shaped my perspective.  Let me explain…

If 1 Corinthians 10:13 is true, then we know that:

• There are not any unique situations; multiple people are sharing your same experiences. This is very helpful in combating self-pity.
• What God allows to happen will always be conquerable; not only will it always be conquerable, but you will always have the tools to do so.

Drawing these conclusions from scripture, it would seem very distrustful for the “believer” to spend over one-third of their time with God petitioning for strength.  It is evident that this type of prayer by a believer is a direct reflection of not truly believing God’s Word.  This also reveals that there is room to build a better relationship with God in that particular area; moreover, this encourages one to get to know the attributes of God, which would help build trust.  

Case in point, why would we approach a winning situation with a losing attitude?  Petitions for strength only come when you are running out of answers.  The scripture above clearly implies that any defeat was a decision you made; it was not because of a lack of strength.  Our prayers as believers should not be for strength, but to stay the course that God has prepared.

As always, thank you for your commitment to support, pray and uphold this ministry.  You know I cannot do it alone. I am truly thankful to have you on our team.