When I was a kid, I’d often say “It’s not fair!” to my parents when I felt my brother had less chores or more privileges than I did. My parents would usually respond by saying straight-faced, “Well, we love him more than we love you.”
I would always laugh because even as a very young child, I knew it just wasn’t true. My parents knew that saying something that ludicrous to me would make me realize they weren’t being cruel by giving me what I perceived to be the short end of the stick.
More recently, I had a silent temper tantrum in my head when a friend announced she was pregnant with her 4th and 5th children. Yes, twins without fertility treatments! The first thought that popped in my head was, “God, why does she get five children when I can’t even get one? It’s not fair!!”
I thought about these things when I received a review copy of God is Just Not Fair: Finding Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense by Jennifer Rothschild. I’ve been putting off reading it, but after our failed frozen cycle, I figured now was a good time to read it.
Rothschild, who went blind as a teenager, uses Biblical stories and personal experiences to addresses six questions we often ask God in the middle of “unfair” circumstances:
- God, are you fair?
- God, do you err?
- God, do you hear prayer?
- God, do you care?
- God, are you aware?
- God, are you there?
This book doesn’t spare the tough issues. Rothschild tells stories of how other blind people have been healed while she’s still praying for her own healing. She writes about her jealousy and disappointment when other people receive the healing she longs for herself. Yet she remains firm in her belief that while God may not always seem fair, he is always just. In order to survive the tough times, we must “realize that seeking to know the answers is far less important than seeking to know God.”
Rothschild doesn’t sugar-coat things and promise that everything will work out the way you want it to. Yet she writes with a sensitivity and understanding that doesn’t make you feel bad for wrestling with the hard questions. I’d highly recommend this book if you’re struggling with faith or doubt in the middle of infertility.
Do you ever feel like God is not fair? Any thoughts about this book? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
