I think I believe in getting what we deserve; getting that for which we work. I believe in a fundamental “fairness”. I also know that, as my father said, “life isn’t fair”.
I also believe, as a Christian, that I am totally undeserving of the Grace and Forgiveness of a loving Father. God is just, yes, but more important and more essential to my salvation, he is compassionate.
Teresa, a single mom of a 2-year-old living in a domestic violence shelter, tells of how she broke down and applied for cash benefits after fleeing an abusive relationship—only to be chastised by state welfare officers who asked, “Wouldnt you rather work?” Eventually, Teresa says, “I was sitting there crying—I just didnt know what else to do. I said, youve gone from letting people sit on their butt and collect money to the very opposite of that.”Ultimately, it didn’t matter. In the end, she was rejected for failing to fill out her paperwork correctly.
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”