Numbers 26:54
"To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance: to every one shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered of him."
Children often say, "That's not fair."
Parents hear that statement often when their children feel that they did not get what they deserved or wanted. One of the hardest things a parent will have to teach their children is that life is not fair.
When God told Moses to divide the inheritance among the children of Israel, one could have easily thought that God was not being fair. It says in the verse above, "To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance..." That seems to be very unfair to those tribes that were not as big. You would think that God would give equally to all, but that is not what God did. Though the dividing of the inheritance was seemingly unfair, it was truly just. Those that were not as big did not need more, but God gave them what was sufficient for them. Because God gave them what was sufficient, it became very fair how He divided the inheritance.
Fairness is a selfish estimation. What one may think is fair will seem unfair for another. It all depends on how one looks at it. Children think their parents are not being fair because they are looking at it from a selfish viewpoint. Why is it unfair just because you think it's unfair? Fairness is not determined by our viewpoint. Just because we think we should get something does not mean life is unfair when we don't get what we want. Those who cry that life is unfair are literally living a selfish life.
What everyone must understand is that life is unfair. As I write this devotional, a preacher friend is lying in a coma on a hospital bed. That seems to be unfair. I think of a another preacher friend who carries cancer in his body and is in extreme pain on a daily basis. The doctors have told this preacher that he will have to live with this for many years to come, and he is relatively a young man. That seems to be unfair. There are people you know who seem to be salt of the earth people who are suffering, and that seems to be unfair. Life is not fair and you must accept it.
Life is not fair because we can't see the whole picture. You can't see what God is doing through someone's life, and that is why you may think that life is not fair. If you could see the whole picture, you would see that God is being fair. Because you can't see life through God's eyes, you must trust that God is being fair and just in all that He does and allows.
Instead of being concerned with life being fair, the best thing you can do is follow God's example by wanting only what is sufficient. 1 Timothy 6:8 says, "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." Friend, as long as God gives us what is sufficient for our needs, then we should be content. When you look at your life, you will see that you have never gone a day without food or clothing; therefore, God has supplied your needs and has been very fair to you.
Stop looking at what you don't have and look at what you do have. When you look at what you do have, you will see that God has given you what is sufficient for you. When you need more, God will give it, but until then be content with what God has given you.