That's Not Fair (Part 1)

"That's Not Fair!"

We have all heard those words before in arguments. What does that actually mean? Why do we appeal to some standard of justice that is beyond ourselves. By making this appeal, are we acknowledging that somewhere there is a Law that all people are supposed to follow; something like "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?"

But where does this idea (that there is a Law that is above us) come from? And why do we yearn for it when we feel that there has been unjustness? Some people believe that "right" and "wrong" are personal decisions. They believe that we should not impose our ideas of right and wrong onto others. It seems to me that this is another way to say, that's not fair.

If I really believed that I should not impose my standard of fairness onto others then I should not condemn Adolf Hitler! Wasn't he doing what he thought was "right?" But some will say, "He was hurting others. So it is "right" for you to condemn him." That is true. But it is still a imposition of my values onto his actions. I appeal to a Law greater that Hitler and myself to judge him.

My point is this...That all of us appeal to a Law that is outside ourselves and impose that Law on others. We expect others to follow it. But the next question is "Do I, myself, follow that Law?"

Never Good Enough!

Most Americans believe in heaven. Ask someone you know if they believe in heaven. Most likely they will answer "yes." Then ask them if they will go to heaven. They will most likely respond "yes" again. It would be a rare person that believed in heaven but did not think that they were headed there.
And if we ask them why they think that they will go to heaven then we will probably get responses such as..."I'm a good person," or "I'm not a murderer," and "I go to church." People seem to think that the entrance to heaven is based on their earthly behavior. Your average Joe person believes that God is somehow weighing their behavior on a spiritual balance and that they will most likely come out on top unless they do something really bad. They have some instinct that there is a judge in the after-life. I think that this belief is innate in all of us.

But is there any information that we can glean about the nature of this balance? To what standard is our behavior being compared? Can we know? If there is a heaven and a God as most of us believe, wouldn't He let us know His standard?

Most of us respect Jesus as a spiritual teacher. He had something to say about this balance. He said that "if you are angry with a person you have already committed murder in your heart." And also, "if you look at a woman lustfully, you have already committed adultery in your heart." In Jesus' mind the balance was infinitely sensitive and tipped by the smallest wrongs.

In Jesus' day, the most holy people in society were the Pharisees. These men had devoted their entire lives to obeying God and his commands. They would be similar to monks, nuns and pastors. Jesus made this amazing statement, "unless your life is better than the Pharisees you will not get into heaven." If Jesus were on earth today, he might have said it this way, "unless you are better than Mother Theresa you will not get to heaven."

If that is the case, who is good enough?