Fair

Have you ever stopped to consider what someone (or you) means when you say something like, “it’s not fair” or “it’s only fair”? Maybe I can help you with an example.

We recently had a group of merry but weary travelers stuck in Chicago. I’m not one of them, so I’m getting my information second- or third- hand, and I apologize if I don’t have all the details. Anyway, they left early Monday (2/16) morning for a mission trip to Kenya. They made it to their first stop, Chicago, where they had a significant wait until their next flight onto Qatar (with a connecting flight to Kenya). While they were waiting, Qatar let them know they wouldn’t be boarded because a workers' union strike at the Kenya airport had virtually shut it down.  They were stuck in Chicago late Monday night.

They got a rental car and a hotel room to wait until the next day to figure out what to do. By the next morning, the strike had resolved itself and they rebooked their flight to leave Wednesday night—two days later— with no change to the return date. One member of the group was going to try to convince Qatar Airlines they should reimburse them for their hotel, rental car and other expenses because they refused to let them board the Monday night flight.  It was only fair…

In this case, “fair” means something unanticipated happened and I shouldn’t be responsible for the additional expenses associated with it.  Since I’m a logic-driven person, I had to ask myself why Qatar Airlines should be responsible for reimbursing the group when they did not influence the workers’ strike at the Kenya airport. In fact, I wondered, what circumstances should compel an airline to reimburse travel disruption expenses? Weather, strikes and government shutdowns are not in their control, unlike overbooking a flight or mechanical problems or flight crew issues. I couldn’t think of any other factor where it would only be “fair” for an airline to provide compensation (they may wish to do it for customer service reasons, but that isn’t a fairness judgement).

When we say something like “it’s only fair,” do we mean we want to be insulated from any negative impact on ourselves?

Think about the common argument against God: it’s not fair that God lets bad things happen to good people (especially children). That comment haunts me because all the answers and explanations I’ve ever heard seem to be insufficient to some extent. I know we live in a sinful world and God can use bad things for the greater good, but how is that “fair”?

I’ve come to terms with this for myself by stepping out of the question to accept that when God created us with free will (which we screwed up with sin), he had to allow for the possibility of bad things happening.  In fact, every single one of us deserves instant death and separation from God, so the fact that he doesn’t wipe us out instantly shows his grace. The fact that he sent his son to earth to take the penalty for our sin shows more love and compassion than we can ever realize.

“When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. An oracle is on the lips of a king; his mouth does not sin in judgment. A just balance and scales are the Lord’s; all the weights in the bag are his work.” — Proverbs 16:7-11 ESV

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 6:20-23

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” - Proverbs 3:5-8

In matters of what is fair, I trust God.