Notes from the Editor
Fair Grounds"That's no fair!" Who among us has never put his hands on his hips and cried those words? Most of us have built-in fairness radar--at least when it comes to how we're treated. But of course fairness is a two-way street. More on that in a minute. Let's get something else out of the way first: the words SAME and EQUAL. Sometimes SAME = EQUAL. Sometimes it does not--which is how we're approaching the virtue of fairness. Think about it this way: fairness is NOT about treating people THE SAME. Because God created us in His image (Genesis 1:27), we are alike in some ways, but different in others. Apart from obvious physical differences, we have different personalities, skills and talents, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. Because we're different, we have different NEEDS. And because we have different needs, we don't all necessarily need to be treated the same. (Example: I bet you and your siblings are not all the same. You are different in some ways. Which means your parents needed to do some things differently for each of you in order to parent you in the way you needed. Right?) So, fairness is not about treating people the same. Instead, fairness IS about treating people EQUALLY. Because God created us, He loves each of us--dearly and without favoritism. So much so that He sent His one and only Son to die for us (John 3:16), regardless of our sex, age, race, ethnicity, or nationality. As Peter said, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right" (Acts 10:34-35, NIV). Thank goodness God is fair! Back to that two-way street thing: As dearly loved children of God, He wants us to be imitators of Him (Ephesians 5:1). "As believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism" (James 2:1, NIV). In other words, don't unfairly favor one person OR unfairly "disfavor" another. So this month, we'll be going to the "Fair Grounds," where everyone is treated with respect.
Week 1: Treat everyone fairly because everyone's important to God.(The principle of fairness, James 2)
Week 2: Treat everyone fairly--even those who are different.(The parable of the good Samaritan, Luke 10)
Week 3: Treat everyone fairly--even your enemies.(Saul and Ananias, Acts 9)
Week 4: Show God's love to everyone because He wants everyone to know Him.(Jesus' last orders to the disciples, Matthew 28; Acts 1)
