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Is God Fair
I really want an answer to this question!
I have been freaking out about college applications, I dont know if i will get in and if i do I cant pay for it!
Meanwhile I see people in school that curse God's name getting full scholarships.
This makes no sense to me :(
I have been freaking out about college applications, I dont know if i will get in and if i do I cant pay for it!
Meanwhile I see people in school that curse God's name getting full scholarships.
This makes no sense to me :(
Comments
Father Peter
Was it fair that Christ, being falsely accused, die on the Cross?
I will also add that there are people who are moral and ethical and loving of God who do quite well also.
I am fortunate to appreciate my success, and I thank God that I do not have to bow my morals and ethics
in order to achieve the success or to maintain it.
Things are not as simple as you may think. People may not be as successful as you think.
So everyone will have a hard time in their life whether its in the early stages or the last stages of your life.....or if God will test you by taking away your money, GIVING you money (yes, that is a test), giving you a disease, or haveing relationship problems, he will test you eventually.
There will be temptations and questioning and pain, but if you really do have a good heart and relationship with God, you will succeed the test. Only then, God will continue to help you on your journy for not betraying him. You will have the true reward.
But if you fail his test, like mabey the people that don't appretiate the scholorships because of greediness, then they will have many problems in their life, like many suffers.
So let the people who are having their test be, and try to focus on your own test, that way you will learn your own mistakes and prevent them from happening in the future by having a good relationship with God.
By the way, I am only 14 and I don't have much experience in life, so I probably don't know what I am talking about. So please correct me if I am wrong.
But, I do wish you luck for getting in a college, and I hope that God will hear your prayers.
The Devil goes after those who are of God....who believe in Him and worship Him with all their hearts, souls and minds.
why is it that confusing?!
First of all, in my opinion, CopticStrength is entierly right in what he is saying.
That is waht my parents tell me too.
You should never look at what someone else has and compare with you cause
God IS a just God. He favors no one over another. Everyone is treated equal.
Let's say that you have a brother, and no parents. Maybe he has no brother and 1 parent.
That is just a simple example. This is also envy which is a sin.
I just would like you to understand that EVERYTHING and I do mean EVERYTHING
that our Lord Jesus Christ allows to happen to you is for your OWN benifit.
Image this situation:
You get in the school and you are paying the fees and you meet a group who
are against God and everything about him. You don't fell very good in college so
you jon that group to "fit-in" you might leave God and never come back!
OR
You meet a group that do drugs and for the same reason that I mentionned,
you take drugs. You have just defiled the holy altar of God.
What I am trying to say is that you should pray and ask intercessions and deliever up your
situation to God and he will deal with it according to His will and what he sees as the best for you.
**Don't you pray the Lord's Prayer?**
The simplist most beautiful prayer has these words...
...Thy will be done...
Don't you pray from your heart? If not then get started.
If so, then it is clearly his will. And you are litterally asking him for that.
Does this help?
Remember, just because someone doesnt believe in God does mean God hates him and wants him to have a bad life. There are people who are wealthy and are strong Christians, there are also poor christians. Just like there are wealthy athiests and poor athiests
sometimes we focus a lot about what is around us, and forget about ourselves... while we should focus on ourselves and forget about everything around us!
always keep this story in your mind and in everything you do, "When the same Abba Anthony thought about the depth of the judgments of God, he asked, "Lord, how is it that some die when they are young, while others drag on to extreme old age? Why are there those who are poor and those who are rich? Why do wicked men prosper and why are the just in need?" He heard a voice answering him, "Anthony, keep your attention on yourself; these things are according to the judgment of God, and it is not to your advantage to know anything about them.'"
so many times I asked "why this God?!" and "why that God?!"... but the change happened when I started saying, "how can I do this God?" and "how can I do that oh God?"
focus on yourself, and don't worry about whats around you!
neshkor Allah, akhadna el baraka!
I really want an answer to this question!
I have been freaking out about college applications, I dont know if i will get in and if i do I cant pay for it!
Meanwhile I see people in school that curse God's name getting full scholarships.
This makes no sense to me :(
Why are you comparing everyone else anyway?
This is how God's fairness works:
A few people were unemployed, and a man with a vineyard employed them on his vineyard at the 1st hour.
At the 3rd hour, he employed others also.
In fact, even up until the end of the day, at the 11th hour, he employed people to work on his vineyard.
At the end of the day, he paid everyone the same wage.
Does that make your blood boil?? lol
The workers of the 1st hour complained. They said to him : "But how is it you can give the same wage to those that only worked 1 hour, whilst we have been working for you the entire day?"
The owner of the vineyard said "I paid you what I had agreed with you. "
lol
You have to ultimately understand ONE important thing: GOD IS LOVE.
Here's what the Pope said:
Q. What was the 1st mistake Adam and Eve made?
A. They doubted that the One who told them NOT to eat of the tree of life loves them and wishes them the best.
i.e. That His commandments are good for you - whether you love him or not.
So, let's say you never took drugs because you were taught at an early age that taking drugs was wrong.
Someone else wasn't taught this and they've taken drugs. Whilst they are in that state (of taking drugs) , they are suffering. If they are forgiven and healed from that sin, they'd be just as you are.
Let's say that you never had sex because you KNOW its a sin before marriage. Everyone else around you is dating and having sex. As time goes on, they repent. Once they repent, God sees them the SAME way as He sees you. Your reward was that you were not living in sin. This is a blessing.
Did you want God to reward you for not doing anything wrong?
Its like me rewarding you for not stealing a car. But, as a normal human being, we expect that from you. If you are the son of a King, I'd have expected a certain level of behaviour from you anyway.
I know its pretty hard to take, but try to think of it this way: if you haven't sinned, you've gained. If you have sinned, you're dead. So, whilst you haven't sinned, consider this as your reward.
What about him, Lord?
What about who?
God is fair;
Life is not fair.
Yet, we have a remembrance of the Beatitudes:
(here are a couple of nice ones)
I won't fill in the ending, I will let each one remind themselves, and let their heart finish the verse:
Blessed are the poor, for they .....
Blessed are the meek, for they...
Blessed are the merciful, for they ...
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for ....
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness sake, for ...
"Why does the way of the wicked prosper?"
and God gives an answer (although I don't really understand it)
Jeremiah asked the same exact question in Jeremiah 12:
"Why does the way of the wicked prosper?"
and God gives an answer (although I don't really understand it)
what is the answer?
Surely it is a mirage? There is nothing eternal in what they are building with their lives, and it will disappear from before the Lord like a mist in the morning as the heat of the Sun burns it away.
This life is but a few short decades and then it is over. How we choose to live now will determine our future in eternity. The Fathers speak of each soul having a certain amount of credit in the bank (if I can put it in such a way). We may choose how we spend this credit. Will we spend it now on this earthly life and have nothing for the eternal future? Or will we save what we have and even see an increase, so that we are prepared for eternity?
My own life is filled with much pain and sorrow. Yet the knowledge of God is a greater treasure for me than having all the problems of my life solved. I would rather know God in my pain and sorrow, than be free from such tribulations and distant from God.
Those people who seem to have everything and do not have God are to be greatly pitied. They have nothing at all. To have wealth but not God is to be truly and utterly poor. To have great knowledge of the world but not know God is to be utterly ignorant.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord. To have even the smallest intimation of God's presence and grace is worth more than everything in the world.
Father Peter
Jeremiah 12
Jeremiah’s Question
1 Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You;
Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?
2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;
They grow, yes, they bear fruit.
You are near in their mouth
But far from their mind.
3 But You, O LORD, know me;
You have seen me,
And You have tested my heart toward You.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
And prepare them for the day of slaughter.
4 How long will the land mourn,
And the herbs of every field wither?
The beasts and birds are consumed,
For the wickedness of those who dwell there,
Because they said, “He will not see our final end.”
The LORD Answers Jeremiah
5 “ If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,
Then how can you contend with horses?
And if in the land of peace,
In which you trusted, they wearied you,
Then how will you do in the floodplain[a] of the Jordan?
6 For even your brothers, the house of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you;
Yes, they have called a multitude after you.
Do not believe them,
Even though they speak smooth words to you.
7 “ I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage;
I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies.
8 My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest;
It cries out against Me;
Therefore I have hated it.
9 My heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture;
The vultures all around are against her.
Come, assemble all the beasts of the field,
Bring them to devour!
10 “ Many rulers have destroyed My vineyard,
They have trodden My portion underfoot;
They have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it desolate;
Desolate, it mourns to Me;
The whole land is made desolate,
Because no one takes it to heart.
12 The plunderers have come
On all the desolate heights in the wilderness,
For the sword of the LORD shall devour
From one end of the land to the other end of the land;
No flesh shall have peace.
13 They have sown wheat but reaped thorns;
They have put themselves to pain but do not profit.
But be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”
14 Thus says the LORD: “Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 16 And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people. 17 But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says the LORD.
1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.
4 I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments[a] of all kinds.
9 So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And this was my reward from all my labor.
one may look at Solomon and say WOW, what a successful man he was, and then they read the rest
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.
and this
17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
18 Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.
We should not be envious at the wealth ,lifestyle or fortune of our neighbours.
Read Psalm 37, it has all the answers.
It is so interesting to note that all the great prophets of God {Job,David, Solomon(in proverbs),Jeremiah,etc} have asked themselves similar questions that abanoub posed the other day. Just now, as I was browsing, I read the following meditation from St Anthony.Replace the Abbot St Anthony by abanoub, and the angel of God replies. By now, I hope abanoub is absolutely certain that our God is always fair:-)
On Humility and the problem of evil: The Abbot Antony, being at a loss in his meditation on the depth of the judgments of God, prayed, saying, “Lord, how comes it that some die in so short a space of life, and some live to the further side of decrepit old age: and wherefore are some in want, and others rich with various means of wealth, and how are the unrighteous rich and the righteous oppressed by poverty?” And a voice came to him saying, “Antony, turn thine eyes upon thyself: for these are the judgments of God, and the knowledge of them is not for thee.”
God is not fair. Is it fair that after all the sins we commit all our lives that we r alive today? Is it fair we are as white as a snow just by confessing our sins? is it fair that u trouble God with college applications when there r ur million brothers and sisters lying in bed chronically ill and counting their days?
The biggest way to stop worrying is to see others. I read that and it is true. U r so selfish to the extent that u narrowed the whole world to ur applications. After all God determines ur fate not papers!
Pray that God give u a help. U r greater than ur wishes.
First of all, look at yourself.
If you are alive today, given another chance by God to repent, this is a blessing from God.
If you're healthy, this is a blessing from God.
If you have a stable and loving family, this is a blessing from God.
If you have friends whom you can trust and who respect you, this is a blessing from God.
If you have food to eat everyday, this is a blessing from God.
If you do not face persecution and brutality because of your faith, your race, simply for being who you are, this is a blessing from God.
If you have a church to pray in without fear of attack, this is a blessing from God.
Just consider how many people around the world are exposed to such tribulations and do not have the wonderful gifts that God has given you!
And really, that's just scratching the surface. What of all of the blessings that God gives you specifically because of your belief in him?
"For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield." (Psalm 5:12)
"Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,But establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds." (Psalm 7:9)
"The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates." (Psalm 11:5)
"There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous." (Psalm 14:5)
"The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me." (Psalm 18:20)
"Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight." (Psalm 18:24)
"Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation." (Psalm 24:3-5)
There are too many to list!
May we all continue to live and serve in accordance with these lessons.
Father Peter