It doesn’t take us long to think of things we’ve seen and known that are not fair. Bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people. Injustice abounds even where it should most be upheld. People suffer when they could be helped.
Unfortunately sometimes we blame God for these things. If He’s so good and powerful, then why doesn’t God just up and fix everything? For a brief explanation on that, see When God Can, But Doesn’t. Shorter version: God gave us free will and all the consequences, good and bad, that come with it, so why would He just up and take it right back? That wouldn’t be fair.
We often blame God for things that we’ve done to ourselves, or for things that just happen as part of life. Sometimes we claim God isn’t fair, but that’s not true in the sense we think. If God were to be completely fair, He’d have punished us a long time ago. I wouldn’t be writing this and you wouldn’t be reading it. We wouldn’t be here, because our sin would be our death, and God would be completely right in doling out that punishment.
Fortunately for us God isn’t always fair, sometimes He is merciful. That’s why Jesus came to die to pay for our sins, and then rise again. God wanted us to have a chance, so without breaking His own rules He gave us one.
There are a lot of things around us that are not fair, but they are not God’s fault. Life isn’t fair, but God is. And when God isn’t being fair He is being merciful.
Related reading:
Justice and Injustice
Justice and Mercy
Thoughts and Reasoning
Why Doesn’t God Just Show Himself?
God, Volition, and Natures