Fair?

What is FAIR? Is anything fair? It really depends on where you are at any given moment in time to decide what is fair. The word 'fair' is in the Bible (NIV) only 5 times and only 2 of those are in regards to how we are treated or treat others. Fair is a matter of perception based on your life experiences.
What I found interesting was in Colossians. Paul is writing to the people of Colosse and telling them what God is like and showing us what we need to become...like God. In Colossians 4:1 Paul is telling us that we have a responsibility to be fair with others because we have the ultimate accountability to God. If we want God to be fair and just with us why we would think it is not our responsibility to be fair and just with each other.
The dictionary describes fair as: 1. free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice. 2. legitimately sought, pursued, done, given; proper under the law.
In Deuteronomy 1:17 we are called to 'not show partiality'. Leviticus 25:17 says to 'not take advantage of each other'. Psalm 37:27-28 reads: Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Romans 3:22 is my favorite for summing it all up: 'This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference.' Ezekiel 33:10-20 explains that the righteous behaviour of our past will not save us when we sin and this is fair because if we sin, repent and then do good, the wrong we did will not keep us from God's favor.
How many times have you heard a child or teen saying, 'But that isn't fair!' immediately followed by a cynical adult stating, 'Get over it, LIFE isn't fair!'? How many times have I internally written a person off as not someone I want a friendship with because of their appearance, language, demeanor....and not taken the time to hear about their walk in life? Am I not being unfair in that case? Our politicians constantly write laws under the guise of making life fair. But how many times is it simply to push their opinions off on all of us? The legal system isn't fair, it is about who can hire a lawyer that can twist, manipulate and/or hide our guilt and keep us from being held accountable.
Life would be so much more pleasing if we could remember that fair is really about how we want our relationship to be with God. And He is looking to see how we are with his other children!
A perfect example for me was recently when my Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer and approaching surgery. When I could see her as one of God's children I saw her in a completely different light and my prayers for her changed from ones of selfish child needing parent to seeing God's love for His child and wanting what was best for her. This also helped to keep me from the worrying and fretting and being able to turn her over into God's loving and capable hands. Now, that was FAIR!