Justice and Fairness

 Justice

February 20, 2025

Romans 9:14-15

14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ONWHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.”

The Bible speaks at great length about justice and injustice. But what about fairness? My father used to tell me repeatedly, “Life is not fair!”. I even heard a Bible teacher say recently that “God is not fair”. Like in the story on Jesus feeding the 5000, where he took the boy’s lunch, but then he broke it, and blessed it, and fed 5000 people with it. I don’t know if the boy got back an equal share of the loaves and fishes, which would have been fair, but it says that everyone was satisfied, which is Justice. 

I searched the NASB text and only found “unfairness” used once and that is in Exodus 21:8 in the regulations of how a master was supposed to treat a female slave. On the other hand, “injustice“ is used 13 times and “justice”  is used 138 times. So what is the difference between unfairness and injustice?

In the Romans 9 text, the example used is of God’s treatment of Jacob and Esau. Even though they were twin brothers, God did not treat them the same. One was blessed to become the nation of Israel and the other was not favored. Their treatment was not fair, but Paul says that it was not unjust. God had a special plan for Jacob and the nation of Israel. Esau also became a mighty nation (Edom) but his descendants were rivals of the Israelis to this very day.  It was God’s justice to choose one for His plan and to not choose the other. It doesn’t seem fair, but it was was part of God’s plan to raise up a people to call His very own.

In our life, there are often things that happen that are not fair, but to appreciate the justice of the situation, we need to know God’s plan. We often don’t see this plan at the time, but in the long run we can see how God uses even unfair circumstances to fulfill His plan in our lives. Corrie Ten boom likened this to making a quilt. As a small girl she would sit under the quilting frame as her mother and other ladies made a quilt. From below it was just a random bunch of threads and various colored bits of material. Only when the quilt was complete and was viewed from above was the beautiful pattern revealed. What appears to us as random bits of clothe and hanging threads becomes a beautiful quilt when we observe in from Gods point of view when complete.   

So take heart. When life is unfair. Know that there is no injustice with God and that when you trust Him and walk according to Hisplan for your life, in the long run you will see justice.