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“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa September, 2022 Perhaps I’m projecting but I wondered if he was trying to justify his own unfairness by saying, “life isn’t fair.” It’s true that the person we were both referring to had posted some silly things and had been argumentative himself but responding with falsehoods wasn’t going to make the desired point. I responded by writing, in part, “I guess it’s about as fair as this place gets. But the thing is, I don’t want this guy to be able to poke holes in your argument. Otherwise he’ll throw the error back in your face and claim it invalidates any point you were trying to Yes, I admit I was “feeling my oats” when I wrote those words, and it may have come across as self-righteous or “preaching.” But I believe how we treat others matters, especially how we treat others we don’t like or with whom we disagree. It can be tempting to justify our own actions and attitudes by saying, “life isn’t fair” or “everyone does it.” But we’re warned in Exodus, “You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing.” (Exod. 23:2a Christian Standard Bible). As Christians, we’re called to be “better,” not just so we can tell ourselves how superior we are but because God commands it (Rom. 2:6-8) and because our witness depends on it (Matt. 5:16). Solomon wrote in Proverbs, “Differing weights and varying During the sermon on the mount, Jesus told the disciples, “‘Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’” (Matt. 5:48 CSB). Granted, he wasn’t talking about fairness but about how we treat others, but that treatment includes “playing fair.” Just before that, Jesus said, “‘You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.’” (vs. 43-45b CSB). I seriously doubt he would have accepted the excuse that our “enemy” didn’t “deserve” to be treated fairly. Being “perfect” is a high bar, an intimidating standard. And we won’t get there by cheating. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.” (1 Cor. 9:24 CSB). He wrote those words in reference to sharing the gospel (vs. 23) but I believe they apply to life in general. He concluded by writing, “I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (vs. 27 CSB). If we “cheat” in life, we can find ourselves “disqualified” in our witness. There are frequent news stories about pastors, evangelists, and others who were caught cheating on their spouses, embezzling from their churches or ministry organizations, and other misbehavior. Those people give Christianity a black eye, but they aren’t the only ones who can tarnish its reputation. Whether we like it or not, we can too. We’re called to “Be perfect,” to live in such a way that we won’t be “disqualified.” If we do, it can be a better witness than any words we might say. “Indeed, if you fulfill the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. If, however, you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it Copyright © 2022 by David Phelps
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