When God Isn’t Fair (and why that’s good!)

Our relationships are based on an invisible bartering system more than we care to admit. Who of us hasn’t felt a certain resentment when a friend or family member didn’t respond to a gift the way we expected? We felt used and taken for granted. Only when an apology is offered or the other person does something to return the kindness will our resentment begin to subside. Such thinking may be the way the human race operates, but when we come to the way we relate to God, Jesus makes the shocking statement: “Forget trying to pay back God.” Now it’s not that God doesn’t appreciate us trying to do nice things for him. The problem is our motivation.

If our thinking is, “I’ll do something that God likes, then he’ll feel indebted to me and he’ll give me something in return,” we’re all wrong. God doesn’t need us. We may like to think he does, but that just isn’t the way things are. What we need is the humility to acknowledge our dependence on God and that anything he does for us is an act of grace (getting what we don’t deserve). So instead of trying to pay him back, our motivation needs to change to one of thankfulness. Doing something nice for someone after they have done something for us that is so fantastic we could never pay them back is a lot different than buying that same person a birthday present of equal value to the one they recently gave us.

If you are struggling with a growing resentment for God because you feel he isn’t paying you back for your believing in him, join us this weekend for one of our services. The story Jesus told about some field workers is confrontational to our thinking, but if we get what he is saying, it can revolutionize our life as a disciple of Christ.

Saturday evening worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am