Beyond the stories and parables that reveal God’s heart for fairness, let’s turn to real people in Scripture who wrestled with the same questions we face today.
Esau and Jacob: The Fear of Being Chosen or Forgotten
Esau and Jacob’s story (Genesis 25–27) is one of comparison and fear. Esau, the firstborn, expected the blessing. Jacob, driven by fear of being overlooked, grasped for what wasn’t his. Both brothers were caught in fairness — one feeling robbed, the other feeling unworthy. Yet God’s purpose unfolded through both lives in ways neither could control.
His blessing isn’t about human order or fairness — it’s about His will, which moves beyond our understanding.
Peter and John: “What About Him?”
When Jesus told Peter about his future, that it would end in suffering and sacrifice. Peter immediately looked at John and asked, “Lord, what about him?” (John 21:21) Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You follow me.” In that moment, Jesus silenced comparison.
Peter’s fear wasn’t about John’s destiny; it was about his own.
Fairness makes us look sideways; faith calls us to look upward.
Job: The God Who Draws the Boundaries
The age old question asked for thousands of years, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” When Job demanded answers for his suffering, God replied not with reasons, but with revelation:
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth?
Have you ever given orders to the morning or shown the dawn its place?” (Job 38)
God reminds Job and us, that fairness was never the framework of creation. Wisdom was. Love was.
God determines where the sea stops and how high the mountains rise.
He sends rain on the righteous and the wicked alike. (Matthew 5:45)
His ways are higher, not always fair by human measure, but always faithful by divine design.
Beyond Fairness
Fairness is the language of fear, a way to prove our worth through balance.
But grace speaks a different word: beloved.
God’s justice is not about evenness; it’s about wholeness.
His mercy is not rationed. It is infinite. And His love cannot be measured by comparison, only by surrender.
So maybe the question isn’t “Is this fair?” Maybe it’s “Can I trust that God knows what He’s doing?”
Because when we stop fearing the unfairness of grace, we finally begin to live in the abundance of it.