OK, travelers, life isn't fair! The uneven surface at just about every mile-marker in the journey is a vivid reminder of the inequities that define this out-of-kilter world. So, road-rage often attends the journey---pilgrims who are embittered and angered because something doesn't seem right, because the contractor didn't level the surface in their lane, and, as a result, they are forced to make the trip disadvantaged in some perceived way.
Trouble is, many pilgrims can't keep their eyes on the road. They are too busy gazing at all the other vehicles to appreciate the surface under their tires, and the unique lessons that will accumulate with their mileage. Of course, a good bit of this unfairness thing involves the wandering eye anyway, you know, the comparisons that enlarge situations and make reality all the more bleak. Shoot, while you're bumping along in your old clunker, sleek turbo-charged jets glide by in the fast-lane. Or, while you're handling your greasy burger the person in the next booth is attacking lobster bisque. Or, just as you're registering @ the Dew Drop Inn another family is unloading their Caddie into the spa right across the street. Or, your child says, "Mommy, why can't I buy that cool South of the Border flamingo to put out in our front flower bed?" I mean, you can't help but notice that some people travel in style and others just eek along, some people get the goodies while others get the goofs, some thrive while a good many wither. Yes, life isn't fair. Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. Jesus explained it well: "He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous" (Matthew 5:45).
Jesus told a story once, a parable, about a rich land owner and the people who were hired to harvest his grapes. He hired them all at several intervals during the day, meaning, some worked longer than the others. They had all agreed to a specified wage for their labors and they had all been happy at the time of their wage contract because it seemed fair to them. Of course, when their salary was finally distributed, some of them were angered because they all received the same wage, those hired in the first hour and those hired in the last. Unfair, they cried. Not until the comparison thing happened. Then, they were filled with envy and jealousy and anger and all manner of malice.
Much of life is cloaked in mystery. True, some people enjoy enormous advantage, which they will attribute to many factors. Successful people talk about hard work, good connections, an incredible sense of timing, opportunism, superior education, a clever idea, wise investment strategies, and a long list of things that moved them past the pack. While you're calculating the tote board remember that there are humble honest people numbered among the rich and famous as well as quite a few criminal minds and immoral manipulators. I mean, read through the Book of Ecclesiastes and contemplate who is actually the most privileged under the sun. And, of course, that is the point. Under
close scrutiny none of that mattered anyway. As one movie character said, "It's all just a way of keeping score." And, what's that about? Winning. And, what's that about? Competition. Me against everybody else. Now, you have it.
There are too many lessons to be learned from the uneven pavement. Think about this, though. If your whole journey is spent placing everything on the road under the microscope you're in for a miserable time. Scripture teaches us to occupy the lane we're placed in, enjoy the ride as much as possible, keep the lines of the road visible in the fog, maintain traction on the slippery surfaces, avoid the dangerous curves, and be content with what you have.
And, I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:11-12
And, what a journey it is!
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