Fairness vs Love in Christianity

I recently wrote the following as notes to base a sermon on, I have never done anything like this before and welcome any comments, criticism etc.


Should Christians treat people fairly?

Spoiler alert, NO.

What is and whats wrong with fairness?

A worldly view that gets drilled into us in childhood, it weighs up what we (or others) are owed by what favours we have done and are owed and balance there value based on a range of factors (need, time, skill, value) to get to what we deserve. Having slightly different calculations on this fairness is the source of most petty disagreements and having a large difference in this calculation leads to large disputes. We can only calculate fairness in our own heads and in a worldly way that will never come to a perfect solution and does not match that of those we interact with.

So fairness is worldly but we are not of this world John 15:18-19

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Obviously it has a place ie. Is you have 2 children and 2 chocolate bars you give them 1 each (or eat them when they have gone to bed) but in general it should be seen as at best a bare minimum for Christians. Atheists attack Christian theology as it does not allign with the worldly view of fairness. An eye for an eye is fairness more on that in a bit.

Does God treat us fairly or call us to treat others fairly?

Through out the new testament we are repeatedly called to forgive those who wrong us and in the lords prayer we are even tell God that we are forgiving those who have wronged us. Forgiveness is bearing the cost of the wrong done to us and is in total opposition to worldly fairness.

In Mathew 5 (sermon on the mount) Jesus says anger is the same as murder and lust the same as adultery, again this couldn't be more different to a worldly view of fairness he then goes on to say: Mathew 5:38-41

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,8 let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Again the opposite of a worldly view of fairness. He then tells us the alternative Mathew 5:43-44

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

So love is the alternative, and who shouild we love:

Love you God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind

Love your neibour as yourself

Love you enemy

So basically every one we encounter we have to love and love goes far beyond faireness. What is love?

1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have aprophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 if I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,1 but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it his not arrogant 5 or rude. It idoes not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;2 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Do you see any relation to fairness here. Does God treat us fairly?

Ephesians 2:4-9

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even then we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved athrough faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
(Emphasis added by me)

Mercy not fairness

Love not fairness

Grace not fairness

Not your own doing or works which would give you what you deserve in fairness

So in summary as Christians we should always act and judge in love not fairness as we are loved by God. And to end my favourite bible verse 1 Corinthians 14

Let all that you do be done in love

Possibly the closesed to a 1 sentence summary of Jesus's teachings there is.

Notes:

This is designed to be the basis of a sermon to help Christians in every day life to act as God would want. Its not designed to be read exactly as written though most of it can be. Please feel free to use any or all of it as is or modified in any way you like, I don't want to receive any credit for it. The parts in red I considered removing. Please let me know if you think anything is incorrect or any other feedback.

 

Please 50+ people looked at this I would really like at least some feedback even if its only 1 word

 

Cheers, I am limited as to where I can post as i'm not a baptist.