If favor is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness they deal perversely and do not see the majesty of the Lord.
Reflection by Christina Villa
When my children were small, I preserved part of my sanity by forbidding whining, though I let them get away with plenty of other bad things. The sound of a whining child is like fingernails on a blackboard to me.
I have to restrain myself in public sometimes from telling other people's children to knock it off.
Whining is basically an extremely annoying way of complaining that life isn't fair, which strikes children, and many adults, as an unbelievable outrage when they're on the losing end of a deal.
When things turn out well for us, on the other hand, we tend to consider it justice done.
Life may be unfair, but there is in all of us the potential for a kind of internal accounting where justice is guaranteed.
Maybe I've behaved badly and gotten away with it, suffered no apparent consequences, even gained some benefit.
Every so often, even in small ways, most of us are among "the wicked" to whom "favor" is shown--unfairly. We seem to come out ahead, but we lose the chance to "see the majesty of the Lord."
We lose the chance to see that our petty concerns with fairness are nothing next to the majesty of the justice of God. Life is unfair, but that doesn't mean you have to wait until you're dead to get your reward in Heaven (or not). Life is unfair, but "the majesty of the Lord" is, above everything else, just.
Prayer
God, forgive my whining when I count who has wronged me and how I've been cheated and every way in which I've lost out. Make me accountable for what happens to me. Remind me that life is unfair for everyone, and justice is yours. Amen.
About the Author
Christina Villa is Minister for Resources and Communication, Local Church Ministries, United Church of Christ, Cleveland, Ohio.
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