The Super Bowl was yesterday. I didn’t watch it, except for the final two minutes, so I guess I saw all the exciting parts. Part of the reason I didn’t watch was I wasn’t sure what time it was to start. Between pre-game shows, the puppy bowl, the kitten bowl and the cat bowl, there was too much to keep track of. Besides, I wasn’t invested in either team (emotionally or financially) to feel the need to watch the “big game.” It’s not that I don’t like football – I do enjoy watching it whenever I have it on – and I did play football back in college (okay, intramural flag football – still it was football) – but I usually have something else I’d rather do whenever it’s on. Like nap or write a blog.
And yet, as I thought about this year’s Super Bowl, several things came to mind which I could consider as lessons which I am taking to heart. There are three such lessons that come to mind:
First Lesson: I should have stuck with my flag football career in college and built it up to employment with the NFL. Those guys make serious money. Just to be on a team that plays in the Super Bowl, each player gets $53,000. Being on the winning team brings you $107,000. And that’s in addition to the multi-millions earned for the rest of the season. Like I said, I should have played more football. Of course, playing football can lead to brain injuries, so I would pick a safer position such as designated kicker (the opposing team is penalized for even touching the kicker) or water boy.
Second Lesson: I’m glad I gave up on my musical career. It turns out that the half-time performers don’t receive any pay for their singing and/or dancing. I could be up on stage, thrilling millions of people with my dulcet tones, yet only get a pat on the back when it was over. Then too, there is always the danger of a wardrobe malfunction. But we won’t go there.
Third – and Real – Lesson: Okay, there was something that caught my attention about the lead-in to this year’s Super Bowl, and that is the role the referees and officials played in the outcomes of the two league (AFC and NFC) championship games that determined which teams finally made it to the Super Bowl. Both games had questionable, actually downright bad calls that favored the teams that went on to win those games: New England and Los Angeles. While not getting technical about the nature of those calls, I can say that fans of the teams that lost have legitimate gripes against the calls that were made. They could justly claim that their teams were treated unfairly.
If there’s any particular ethical expectation left in our society, it is the doctrine of “fairness.” We expect judges to be unbiased, playing fields to be level, opportunities to be equal, produce to be fair-traded, teachers to grade fairly, taxes to be fair, and scales to give fair weight. The concept of fairness is so ingrained in us that one of our earliest complaints as a child is, “That’s not fair!” And as adults, we pass laws and enact policies that are intended to ensure fairness in all transactions.
Unfortunately, the world is not fair.
Unfortunately, the world is not fair. Life is not fair. There are no guarantees of fairness in this fallen world. Refs make bad calls all the time (just think of some of the judging at the Olympics!). Elections are cheated in, and spouses are cheated on. Insider deals make millions for favored investors, while seniors lose value in their pensions due to inflation. Small countries are bullied by bigger ones, and small mom-and-pop stores are crushed by big box giants. The coach’s son always gets to play, while the shy, unknown kid does not. The crook who embezzled millions gets off on a technicality, while someone like you or me has to pay hundreds of dollars for driving three miles over the speed limit or parking one inch over a line. And, tragically, sweet, loving, generous people we know and love come down with horrible diseases like cancer. It’s just not fair.
God is well aware of the unfairness we sinners have brought into the world. His Word is full of admonitions for his people to be fair in all their actions toward others. In Deuteronomy 25:15 he commanded the use of full and fair weights and measures in commerce. He charged Israel with treating its people unfairly, of judging in favor of the wealthy, and of taking bribes (Micah 7:3). In Proverbs 31:9, he commanded, “Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
God demonstrates fairness in his own actions:
As an example to us, God demonstrates fairness in his own actions: in Isaiah 2:3-4, we read about God’s Anointed One, “He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.” Psalm 67:4 praises God: “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.” God affirms that he is not partial to those who might have undo influence in society: Acts 10:34 says, “God shows no partiality” (about nationality); Romans 2:11 says, “For God shows no partiality”(toward Jew or Greek); Galatians 2:6 teaches, “God shows no partiality” (toward people in respected positions); Ephesians 6:9 adds, “there is no partiality with him” (toward master or slave); and Colossians 3:25 teaches in a paragraph dealing with relations between husbands and wives, masters and slaves, parents and children, that all will be held accountable to God for their actions because with God “there is no partiality.” The Lord demonstrated this when he directed Samuel to anoint David as king, bypassing one of his brothers named Eliab who looked very regal: “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
The only place where God does not deal fairly is with us when it comes to our sins
The only place where God does not deal fairly is with us when it comes to our sins. Instead of giving us what we deserve, he forgives us. Instead of casting us all into the pit of fire, he provides a means of escape. Instead of turning his back on us, he provides reconciliation through the sacrifice of his Son. As the psalmist said, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3) If anyone could claim to be treated unfairly, it was Jesus, who lived a perfect life and obeyed all of God’s commands, who showed love and compassion toward those who suffered, and who paid for our salvation through his own horrible death on the cross. But though he suffered unfairly for us, he came to earth for that very purpose, and went uncomplaining to his death. Thanks be to God that he has ignored what we believe to be fair in order to save us from ourselves.
Recognizing that there is much unfairness in the world, yet knowing that God commands us to do good to each other, how do we respond when we have been treated unfairly?
The answer is not complicated, but is sometimes hard to do, depending on how hurt we are and how severe the wrong we have suffered. There are two parts to it: our obligation to others, and our obligation to God.
Regarding our obligation to others: 1. Christ told us to turn the other cheek, to forgive, and bless those who hurt us (Matthew 5:39, 44). 2. Vengeance is the Lord’s property, not ours (Deuteronomy 32:35). 3. We have an obligation to protect others and try to stop the unfairness from continuing. This means confronting the wrong with gentle firmness, speaking up, warning others, and working with the authorities to restrain the evil that is being done (Romans 13:3-4). Forgiving the person who wrongs us does not mean we have to condone the actions they did or allow them to continue against us or other people.
Regarding our obligation to God: Jesus told a parable about a servant who owed a huge, unpayable debt to a king. The king forgave him the debt, but then the servant went out and jailed another servant who owed him a trifling amount. When the king heard it, he became enraged and threw the first servant into prison, saying, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” (Matthew 18:21-35). By this parable, Jesus showed that because God has forgiven us greatly, we must forgive each other as well.
Unfairness hurts, but it is part of living in a fallen world
Unfairness hurts, but it is part of living in a fallen world, where sin drives people to lie, cheat, and steal, to take unfair advantage of people, and to believe they deserve whatever they want. But God has broken into this world through his Son, and has given us the Holy Spirit to empower us to forgive and to receive the comfort and healing God wants for us to have. So when you have such hurts, take them first to God in prayer to ease the pain, to find the power to forgive, and to receive guidance for how you should respond. And when you respond, remember to be fair in what you do!
May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.
Read: Matthew 18:21-35, 1 Samuel 16:1-13