Unfair-itis

Matthew 6:4 “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Raising three young boys leads to a lot of love in our household, but also a lot of jealousy. We like to say that there’s an epidemic of “unfair-itis” that manifests in outbursts like “that’s not fair! I did more work than him and he got more screen time than me!” So during our devotional time the other night, I explained to the boys that these moments are actually a huge opportunity. “Every time we are treated unjustly and not given credit for our contributions, God is storing up more treasure for us in heaven. Usually, I find he gets us more reward on earth too if we can just wait it out.” Three separate times in Matthew 6 Jesus talks about this concept. If you give to the needy and people know about it, then you’ve already received your reward. If you fast and make a big production of it, then you’ve already received your reward. But if you do the right thing, and no one knows about it, your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. My natural reaction is to cringe with unfair-itis when I’m not given credit for my contributions, but over time I’ve seen again and again that God rewards me when I let him fight the battle. At work, we’ve remained quite under the radar in many ways, but He’s been orchestrating some moves that will get us credit soon for our work, many, many years after the fact. Lord, I thank you that I can take comfort in your goodness, even when the world seems unfair. I pray that you help me to have more of an eternal perspective today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.