"Life's not fair, is it? You see, I...shall never be king. And you...shall never see the light of another day."

I never really thought about it before, but oddly enough, those are the first words spoken (there's been singing, of course) in The Lion King. Interesting point to open with, huh??

Sometimes the unfairness of the world just makes me crazy. Whether its the fact that my brother gets to do things I would never have dreamt of being allowed to do at age twelve, or seeing things my friends have had all their lives that I would give up any special privileges I've ever had for, it all sometimes just gets to be too much. When I was little, I remember frequently asking my mom why my sister Elizabeth got this or that and why I didn't, and she always told me, "well, it all evens out in the end, honey."

Thanks, Mum.

The most astonishing thing is that, to a degree, she's right. Granted, she didn't know she was at the time; she was only trying to placate me and hide from me the truth that the world really ISN'T fair.

Whenever I think about this, I always find myself remembering the words from Reliant K: "And the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair." I think that is, perhaps, the best line of any lyrics anywhere. Well, no. The best line of any lyrics anywhere is "Indescribable, uncontainable, you see the depths of my heart, and you love me the same" ('Indescribable'), but I think I would definitely put this as second on my list. It's so simple, and yet so brilliant and true.

The world isn't fair. Don't let the cheap sayings of your parents tell you any different.
Life isn't fair, but that's because sin has invaded the world. And we let it. Everyday, we continue to let sin rule in the Lord's world with the choices we make. But the crazy thing is, if we want ultimate justice, we all condemn ourselves as well as each other. Which is what makes forgiveness and grace so VERY IMPORTANT. Not only is the Lord forgiving us, but in return HE CALLS US to forgive each other. Grace isn't fair. In fact, it's the opposite of justice. It's far more than what we deserve.

But in the end, it does "all even out". Heaven doesn't distinguish between the person who had the cell phone at age eleven or the older sibling that didn't get one until the responsible age of fifteen. Ultimately, all the worldly injustices on Earth will fade away, and we will be left either with, or without, Christ. I think that when we are the most upset about what's not fair, is also when we are most focused on worldly things rather than Godly ones. It's when we're upset about an 'unfair' grading system, or inconsistencies of privileges, or discrepancies in gifts from God that we really fail to see Him--and his cross. We think we deserve more--when we're really getting wayyy more than we deserve. Maybe the time is ripe to start seeing what it is that I do have, rather than pining and whining about what I don't.