General Articles

Life is Not Fair :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR10

Psalm 73: 1-14

“Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance; they have more than heart could wish.

They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, ‘How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?’ Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches. Surely, I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning.”

This Psalm was written by Asaph, one of the chief musicians for King David. He wrote Psalm 73-83. In this Psalm, he recounts for us his observations of the wicked and their lives here on Earth. So, back in David’s day, about 1,000 years before Jesus walked on Earth, Asaph was able to observe that life Is not fair. This is a mantra we often hear from teenagers and the like about life. But if we adults, and yes, we Christian adults, were to be honest, we too often cry out to the Lord that life is not fair.

Asaph lays out his case, and he tells us in verse 1 that his ‘feet almost stumbled’; when he observed that life is not fair, it almost caused him to question why he served the Lord. Why would he obey and submit to the word and ways of God if the wicked seemed to prosper? This can happen to us as well, and sadly, it has happened to too many Christians along the way. Life, yes, even the Christian life, is not fair. God never promised it would be, and neither can anyone else. The only part in this life that we can be guaranteed of is the very first statement that Asaph makes: God is good to the pure in heart.

Asaph saw how rich the wicked are; he saw that even their deaths were peaceful, they had lots of food, they did not seem to have the worries like other men, and had more than one could even dream of having. Today, our world is not much different. We see that many evil people have become very wealthy. They have so much money that they, their children, and maybe even their children’s children will be rich without any worries. Some people have so much money that they have to invent ways to invest it, give it away, and use it. Now we would be okay if ‘good’ people had these kinds of riches, I think. But when we see evil people getting ‘filthy rich,’ it eats at us.

I recall a documentary about Pablo Escobar, and the commentator mentioned that at the height of his drug trading, he was making more money per day than General Electric, which was the largest multination corporation in the world.

There is the movie “American Made” with Tom Cruise that portrays the life of Barry Seal, a pilot who ended up working for the cartels and the US DEA at the same time; he made so much money, he ran out of land to bury the cash. These are just two of the names, but there are hundreds we can mention who had more money than most of us could dream of, and yet, they were evil persons. Many of them died a horrible death, and in the case of Escobar, he spent a lot of his life being hunted by various governments in the world.

Asaph also observed that these folks seemed to have an arrogance about them. They defied God and almost dared God to judge them. But it would appear that they could go on and on, abated in their evil. Why? Where was God? Did He not see? Why would He allow these arrogant people to live? They just seemed to get richer and richer, their lives easier and easier, and it is NOT fair.

Asaph and many, even I, have looked around us at the prosperity of evil men and wondered why. Why do we try to live godly lives? Why not just do a bit of evil, not too much evil, just a bit, and get some wealth. Think of all we can do with money. We can give more to missions, help repair the church building, make life easier for my family, and on and on.

Asaph goes on to tell us that he went to the sanctuary of God, the Tabernacle (remember, Solomon built the Temple), and there he was able to see their end. God is not blind; rather, he is gracious. God is not indifferent; rather, he is merciful even to evil men. God is just, and one day, sooner than they think, this life will come to an end, and then they will have an eternity of torment to endure because they defied the God of Heaven.

God is not fair; He is just. So, don’t get discouraged when evil men prosper; don’t get down when evil men seem to have a better life here; their kids eat and live well; they never lack or have to penny pinch. Without Jesus as their Savior, their riches mean nothing, and their eternity is going to be Hell.

Look at Psalm 73:18-20, “Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awakes, so, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image.”

Asaph repented of his shortsightedness. He understood that he was thinking as a mere human and not as a redeemed human. We have all we need in Jesus for this life. And, while we may not be rich in man’s terms, we have more than we need and certainly more than we deserve.

In verses 23-24, Asaph rejoiced that God knew him, that God guided him, and that one-day God will bring him to glory. These are true, eternal riches that no one, no government, and not even death can take from us. Life is not fair; thank God!! One day we will get to meet Asaph and maybe even chat about his Psalms.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario

 

On The Road Again :: By Jim Towers

Published on: by RR10

Years ago, my newly acquired van was acting up (it was a used one). The carburetor wasn’t functioning properly, and so I ran the battery down. Luckily, I was parked under a big oak tree in a parking lot behind McDonald’s (the area was known for its many drug dealers and thugs). Although I was hungry, I really didn’t want to eat there. I’d had my fill of hamburgers and fries. So I went across the street to a gas station for some gasoline to prime the faulty carburetor.

As I walked inside to pay the clerk, I saw him arguing with a younger man over a nickel. It seems that the young man had bought a pack of cigarettes and needed a nickel more. The clerk said, “You give me a nickel, and you can have your cigarettes!”

“I’ll bring it back, I promise; I only live down the street,” the young man said.

The clerk huffed back, “I gotta have it now!”

Obviously, the clerk had been lied to before and was tired of it.

“But it’s only a nickel, man!”

The clerk bellowed back, “Yeah, and I want it in my hand! That’s when I butted in, I’ll pay the nickel” and I fished into my pocket, paid for the gasoline, and gave the man his nickel.

“Man, what a jerk!” the young man said as we walked out together.

I turned and asked him if he knew anything about cars. “Yeah man, I can fix anything. How much will you give me?”

“We’ll see.” I was thinking, what harm could it do for him to try? Even though I could tell he was a street-smart junkie.

“Come with me; I’m parked behind McDonald’s across the street.” The young man followed me while lighting up, and he began to look at the carburetor, cigarette in hand. Meanwhile, I kept the gasoline as far from him and his lit cigarette as I could.

I hadn’t eaten lunch, and it was now suppertime, but I couldn’t bear to eat another meal at McDonald’s. We fooled around with the carburetor for a couple of hours, and by now, I was famished. Sure enough, he only wanted the money to buy drugs, and I knew that, so I preached to him about the danger of drugs and shared various Bible verses with him. He listened as he probed under the hood of the van in confusion and was surprised that I knew what he was up to. To make matters worse, I concluded that he didn’t know what he was doing in fixing the car.

I finally told him I was hungry, and we had to quit. I said, “But I really don’t want McDonald’s again today!” I had already eaten breakfast there this morning and supper there the night before, after the van broke down. But it just so happened that God had set up a meal for me. The young man invited me to his older sister’s house, where she was selling BBQ meals to help her church. (Is that a coincidence or what?) Barbecue?! Did somebody say BBQ?! Man, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some.

His sister lived right down the street and was cooking on the big outdoor grill when we arrived. There were others there, but as it turned out, they were all family members of his, a younger sister whom I thought might be in her mid-20s, another older sister, her husband, and a female cousin. There were chairs all set up in the driveway under a canopy, and I made myself at home after paying $10.00 for my highly anticipated meal.

I ate, and the others watched as the young man told them I was a preacher of sorts and that I knew of his wayward ways without him even telling me. Now I ask you, who in their right mind can’t discern something like that?

I finished my meal, and we began to make small talk, primarily about church, God, and Jesus Christ. They seem to be impressed by my knowledge of the Bible. And after an hour of give and take, I got up ready to leave, and the young man asked me to pray for him. When I finished praying for him and was ready to leave again, the young man’s brother-in-law (who had been quiet all this time, scrutinizing everything I had to say) asked me to pray for him too. He stood up and came over to me, taking off his cap as he approached. I never considered myself a man of any spiritual stature – but I did as he asked, and the man was satisfied.

I took my leave and went back to the van alone to spend the night sleeping at the back end of it in my makeshift bed with a full stomach. I thanked God for such a wonderful opportunity and meal, said a prayer for the group, and went to sleep. The next morning, upon awakening, I tapped gently on the carburetor, cranked the van over, and after a pop or two, it began purring like a kitten! So, I hit the road once again.

(The carburetor float had gotten stuck.)

God knows our every need and will provide – especially if you give Him first place in your life and do as He asks us to do. We all have gifts of different types, and we can offer them to Him. Jesus said, “Only those who throw their lives away for my sake will truly know what it means to live.” We can live dull, boring, fearful lives that don’t amount to a hill of beans, or we can live our lives with joy, peace of mind, and assurance of salvation. Then, when the time comes for us to depart, we can part with great expectation, knowing Jesus will say, “Welcome home, thy good and faithful servant!”

Incidentally, Covenant Publishing has asked me to write articles for them until they have an opening for book submissions – or so it seems. My new and second book will be finished shortly and is a tour de force. I may even go with a pseudonym or, as we say in writers’ circles, “Nom de Plume.”

YBIC

Jim Towers

You can write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com or visit me at www.dropzonedelta.com. You can also find me on my newly restructured website www.propheticsignsandwonders.com, which now features videos of worldwide events taking place in the present time, as well as proof of God’s existence and the reality of Biblical places, and Moses himself.