Blog Challenge No. 8: Fairness.

For today's Authenticity Blog challenge, the topic is fairness. I've been staring at this topic and nothing has inspired me or sparked my inner writer until this morning. I visited a church in Downtown LA called New City Church. They are studying the book of Ephesians and today's, message focused on Ephesians 4:31-32; the subject - forgiveness. So you may scratching your head, sipping your second or third cup of coffee and asking, "What the heck does forgiveness have to do with fairness?".

No matter what your spiritual inclinations lean toward or away from, one of the basic tenants of Jesus' teachings was forgiveness. There's that old adage, you can forgive but you'll never forget. It's almost become "PC" to forgive but not forget. We have this built-in system that seeks justice, vengeance and fairness. But today I'm challenged. Forgiveness is an extension of grace and there isn't a prerequisite or a post-requisite for forgiveness. It's a decision first, not necessarily a feeling first. If we waited to feel like forgiving, let's be honest, it more than likely would not occur. And in all "fairness", we would all be walking around bitter, angry and probably alone. Now is that fairness???

I guess I'm evaluating where I'm at - in fact, I'll admit forgiveness is not something I extend gracefully, no pun intended. I too get sucked into the cycle of, this isn't fair! I've been wronged! It's not my fault! And in some cases, that may be true, but in most situations, I've played a part. Knowingly or unknowingly. But the truth is I'm not innocent, I''m just as screwed up as the next and as much grace as I think I deserve, so does everyone else.