Do you feel as though you are being unjustly punished at times? Do you get frustrated at the unfairness of life? Are you tired of people telling you that life isn’t fair? Are you willing to step in to protect others who are being treated more unfairly than yourself?
We can all relate to being treated unfairly at some point in our life. We have been mistakenly accused of doing something wrong. We may have had someone see only our reaction rather than what caused the reaction. They don’t know the reason for what we did and may not care what the reason is.
We may be tired of hearing life isn’t fair, but it is true. Typically, by the time we get into our middle years, we’ve heard it so often it has become cliché. Perhaps we no longer pay any attention to it. Perhaps it governs our life. No matter how we view it, we cannot get away from the truth of it, which brings us to this question, “Are we willing to bear the unfairness for someone else?”
Many of us are not willing to bear the unfairness for someone else. We see enough unfairness in our own lives without taking on someone else’s. Sure, we may point out how the other person is being treated unfairly, but it won’t cause us to act on their behalf. We won’t stand up for them out of fear. Perhaps we are afraid of losing our job, being belittled, or insulted by others for doing so.
However, there are a few who will stand up for those being treated unfairly. We see it when a teacher stops kids from making fun of someone who doesn’t fit in. Occasionally, we see it in the workplace when someone who knows more about the situation tells the boss they wrongly accused a co-worker. We might even see it in our society, on those rare occasions, when someone steps in to help another person who is being made fun of in a store by rude hooligans.
As we see in today’s passage, Jesus has stepped in for us. He has taken on the insults that are hurled at us. These are not the typical insults we think of when someone is calling us names. He has taken on the accusations and insults that Satan is hurling at us each and every day. Jesus is our shield that protects us from them. If not for Him, none of us would have an opportunity to spend eternity with God.
I pray we all realize that Jesus is protecting us each day from Satan’s insults. I pray we give Him thanks for doing so. I pray we emulate Jesus and stand against unfairness in our world. Be like Jesus. Stand for what is right. Stand against unfairness. Live without fear. Build each other up.
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”
Marty Pressey 