Life is not fair

A young boy eagerly trained all year to make the school’s soccer team. He was up at dawn every morning, kicking the ball against the fence, running drills until his legs ached. Tryouts came—and he played better than he ever had. But when the list was posted, his name wasn’t there. Instead, a student whose father sponsored the team got the spot. At home, with tears in his eyes, the boy asked his dad, “Why? I did everything right. It’s not fair.” His father said, “You’re right—it isn’t fair. But life often isn’t. The question isn’t whether life is fair; it’s whether we’ll choose to trust God when it isn’t”.

Bad things will happen – accidents, sickness, and tragedies. We all make regrettable choices, and we all suffer from things thrust upon us due to no fault of our own. Sometimes it’s not fair.

To be “fair” means, to be honest, impartial, just or objective; without bias, favoritism, discrimination or prejudice. It’s to be guided by truth, reason, and justice. The Bible says a lot about justice and injustice.

Biblical examples of injustice

Abel was murdered by a jealous brother (Gen. 4:1-10).

Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers (Gen. 37).

Many Hebrew baby boys were killed in Egypt because the Pharaoh was afraid of the rapid increase in their numbers (Ex. 1:8-22).

Naboth was executed after false accusations were made against him so that king Ahab could seize his vineyard (1 Ki. 21).

Uriah was killed to cover king David’s adultery with his wife Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11).

Many young boys were killed near Bethlehem because king Herod had heard about the birth of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah (Mt. 2:16-18).

John the Baptist was executed because he accused king Herod of adultery and Herodias (his brother’s wife) wanted to kill him.

Jesus was executed after betrayal and an unjust trial that was influenced by false witnesses, charges of blasphemy and treason, and a threatening crowd (Mt. 26:57–68; Jn. 19).

Stephen was executed after he was falsely accused of blasphemy (Acts 6:11-14; 7: 54-60).

James was executed by king Herod because he was an apostle (Acts 12:1-3).

Although he was a Roman citizen, Paul faced imprisonments and beatings without cause.

This shows that injustice happens to all kinds of people, particularly Christians. Jesus told His disciples, “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33NIV).

Biblical examples of justice

Nehemiah helped the Jews rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. In Nehemiah 5 he described how he helped the poor Jews. He was very angry when he was told that the poor were mortgaging their properties, paying interest on loans, and going into debt slavery. He told the officials to give back to the poor all that had been taken from them.

Furthermore, previous governors took food, silver and wine from the people. They “placed a heavy burden on the people” and they “lorded it over the people”. But when Nehemiah was their governor he didn’t eat “the food allotted to the governor” and he “did not acquire any land”. And every day he fed 150 Jews and officials at his table. He did all this “out of reverence for God”.

The Old Testament prophets often spoke out against injustice. For example, Zechariah said, “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other” (Zech. 7:9-10). But as the Israelites had ignored this message, God punished them when they were invaded by the Babylonians. Under the new covenant, God’s standard is “Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this” (Zech. 8:16-17).

This shows that God’s people should promote honesty, justice and mercy.

How Jesus dealt with injustice

Peter urged the early Christians to live godly lives in a pagan society – ‘it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God … But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. ²² “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” ²³ When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted himself to Him who judges justly [God the Father]. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by His wounds you have been healed”’ (1 Pt. 2:19-24).

This was written to Christians and implies that they will experience injustice and suffering. But when we suffer because of our Christian faith, God gives us the ability to endure. He wants us to develop resilience.

People falsely accused and harassed Jesus for things He never did. He left these things in the Father’s hands (and also stood up for Himself in a mature way). Jesus did not come to His own defense. He let the Father defend Him. When someone blames us for something that we did not do, it is hard to accept blame for what we did not do.

Suffering is no mistake; it is in God’s eternal plan. Jesus suffered unjustly. He never sinned (v.22; 2 Cor. 5:21) yet He paid for the sins of the entire world. That is unjust suffering. A person who never sins does not have to die, because sin is the cause of death. Jesus did not sin, so He did not have to die. God wants us to use Christ as a pattern for enduring unjust suffering.

The source of injustice

The basic reason that life is not fair (not guided by truth, reason, and justice) is that we live in a sinful world occupied by sinful people. When people are selfish, impatient, or greedy, then they tend to act in ways that secure an advantage for themselves, with no thought of others. As a result, people are treated unfairly. And when unfair people are in positions of power, then life is unfair for the multitudes.

But God is just, and He always acts in accordance with what is right, – “all His ways are just” (Dt, 32:4), “just and true are your ways” (Rev. 15:3), and “true and just are your judgments” (Rev. 16:7). God has commanded that His people also act fairly – use honest measurements of length weight and quantity (Lev. 19:36), use accurate weights and measures (Dt. 25:15), “do what is right and just” (Prov. 21:3), and “maintain justice and do what is right” (Isa. 56:1). But people do not always obey God’s commands. He gives them the freedom to disobey, if that is their choice. Those who rebel against God do not seek justice, and that is one reason why life is not fair.

When we are unjust

We are all selfish sometimes. This is when we are biased or prejudiced towards someone else. We are usually aware when someone else is unjust towards us, but are we aware when we are unjust?

Have our acts of injustice been forgiven by the almighty God? The answer to this question will determine how we experience ultimate justice.

Ultimate justice

The Bible says that God is the ultimate judge of our behavior – “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Heb. 9:27). As this judgement doesn’t happen until after our death, we can’t expect justice to be delivered in this life. Therefore, injustice is temporary (restricted to our lifetime), whereas God’s judgement is eternal (as people are eternal).

People do not always suffer the consequences of their sins while they are alive. For example, Adolf Hitler was responsible for the Holocaust and World War II. As Hitler committed suicide in 1945 as the Allied forces closed in, he escaped direct retribution for the millions of lives lost, leaving the consequences to be borne by others.

God’s justice is not always immediate, but it is always certain. Some people die before facing the earthly consequences of their sin — but Scripture assures us that no sin escapes God’s notice.

Those who haven’t trusted in Jesus will be judged by God at the Great White Throne, “according to what they had done” in life (Rev. 20:12-13). As their names are not written in the book of life, they will be “thrown onto the lake of fire” where they will be tormented for ever and ever (Rev. 20:10, 15). They will be judged according to their sins and injustices.

But God’s mercy is offered to everyone. “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pt. 3:9). The only way to avoid the Great White Throne is to trust that Jesus died to take the judgment for us.

Those who have trusted in Jesus will be judged by God at the judgment seat of Christ, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). This will be a time of reward for faithful service, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day [the judgment seat of Christ] will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Cor. 3:11-15). They will not be judged according to their sins and injustices, because these have already been forgiven as Christ paid the penalty when He died. Instead, they will be rewarded according to their obedience and faithfulness.

Discussion

Sometimes life is not fair, and we need to get used to it! Parents, tell your children so they can expect it. We all need to be resilient when bad things happen.

Avoid a victim mentality that always blames others and is unwilling to take personal responsibility. We might not be able to control others, but we control how we react to them. Also avoid feeling as though you are always being oppressed like in critical theory or cultural Marxism.

Is there any difference in the way we respond to injustice from the way those who do not know Christ? We can’t control what happens to us, but we can control our responses. We can be fair to others. Whatever our outward circumstances, we can always choose to treat others fairly and thus make life a little fairer for those around us.

Injustice is only temporary (during this life) but God’s justice will be eternal. Those who perpetuate injustice will be punished eternally. On the other hand, the unjust suffering of the righteous is only temporary; but the reward of the righteous will also be eternal.

Are we willing to take a stand on our convictions and to leave retaliation in God’s hands? Are we trustworthy? God expects his people to be reliable and dependable. One day we will stand before God perfect. That will be when there is justice.

Conclusion

While life on earth is not always fair and just, God is fair and just, and eternal life will be fair and just.

Will we choose to trust God when life isn’t fair?

Reference

Why is life not fair? Got Questions.

Written, October 2025

Also see: Facing trials
How to survive tough times