Toby Nwazor: Dear God, This Is Not Fair!

I was sitting in the back seat of my neighbour’s car that Sunday morning on our way to Lekki (Lagos, Nigeria) for church service. There was a little traffic on the Adeola Odeku road in VI, towards the diversion by the right. I had been in worse traffic situations that would have made that morning’s look like child’s play. My anxiety meter was also very low and it showed on my very calm face.
To make up for lost time, I took my time feeding my eyes with awe at the magnificent edifices I saw on the Lagos Island. Honestly, Lagos dey two oh. If u no dey live for island, u are just living in Lag, not Lagos. (There are two versions of Lagos. Not living on the island means you are living in Lag and not Lagos.)
We were on our way for the dedication of the 10, 000 capacity Rock house cathedral of the House on the Rock church. Just hearing that Don Moen and Micah Stampley were going to minister live convinced me that I shouldn’t miss that epoch making event.
I was lost in a world of my own until my neighbour’s wife, Ugochi, laughed at an illustration given by a preacher on the radio. Her laughter made me pause and listen too.

The speaker was speaking on the sovereignty of God. According to him it simply means that He does what he pleases without owing any man any explanation.
He made reference to Uzzah who was killed by God because he wanted to do a ‘good deed’ of preventing God’s ark from falling. He made some more references to some other things God did in the Bible which didn’t make any sense from the human point of view.
He however encouraged the listeners to endeavour to make heaven so we can ask God these questions ourselves and get to hear His own side of the story.

After the laughter died down, Ugochi told us about a girl in her school who I will like to refer to as Jessica. According to her story, Jessica was a runs girl, a ‘play-girl’, and practically lived in clubs and parties. She had several abortions for her numerous boyfriends, most of whom were married men.
According to her, many of them were convinced beyond reasonable doubt that karma would definitely catch up with Jessica through an STD. And if she managed to escape it, it still will catch up with her after school.
In fact, they were sure that she would never get married. If she did, they expected it to be a childless marriage to a serial cheat, and a wife beater who will also be a drunken smoker.
As far as they were concerned, the ‘good girls’ were having a hard time getting married, so the ‘bad girl’ definitely didn’t stand a chance.
Shock was an understatement in describing how they felt when they heard that Jessica was getting married. According to her, she even got married and gave birth before any of them did.

As Ugochi ended her story, I started thinking hard. Very hard o! I started remembering some ‘not so good’ guys (by my standard) in my school who graduated with better grades than I did.
Someone said karma is a bitch, and another said life is not fair. I don’t know how true these statements are. But imagine this scenario about Henry.
Let’s say that He was born into a Christian home and lived right all his life.
One day in his 3rd year in school, he was invited to a departmental party by his neighbour. He had never attended a party on campus before.
Reluctantly, he attended. In the midst of dancing, drinking and having ‘fun’, a fight broke out. Let’s assume that Kene, who was a cultist in that party, brought out his gun and fired just one shot.
By chance, the bullet hit only one person; Henry. He was rushed to the hospital, but he died the following morning.
Three years later, as a youth corps member, Kene gives his life to Christ and becomes a changed man.

To be sure, you pick up your phone and dial God to complain. On receiving your call, God tells you that He has not just forgiven Kene, but He has also forgotten all his sins.
Wait a minute, the sins here were not lying and keeping malice o, but killing, paying for abortions, raping girls, and even robbery. I hope you understand now.
Then to make matters worse, you were invited for an interview in a bank. When you arrived you saw Kene seated there too, looking all innocent. In your mind, you smile and say, ‘People like this no fit get job naa, dem go suffer jare’. (People like this can’t get good jobs, they deserve to suffer)
Two months later, you are still waiting patiently to be called for your resumption letter, and nothing happens. Then one day, you see Kene in the back seat of a new Toyota corolla given to him by that same bank to go for marketing.

Now that can be very painful no matter how much you smile and congratulate him. Please spare me the hypocritical look. I know you are a Christian, and you have God’s love. But in your mind, in your mind…fine!
Let’s just say you will be surprised. At least, a little bit. In fact, if you were/are a very ‘churchy’ Christian, you may even become angry at God.
Hold on! I am not God, so I don’t have an answer to your questions, but I can only tell you what Jesus told Peter when he asked about John’s fate, “If I say that this one will not die till I come, what is that to you”? (John 21:22).

So my dear friend, please stop trying to justify yourself or compare how ‘good’ you are to how ‘bad’ others are, so you can give yourself a little pat on the back or try to determine God’s next move.
Nobody made you a judge, and you will only get sad in the process.
Sometimes, things happen that we don’t understand. So the next time you see such things that seem ‘unfair’, try not to question God, or start minding His business for Him. He is still God, and He owes you no explanation.

P.S. Feel free to share any story you have that relates to the topic, so we can empathize and equally laugh with you. (Please don’t use the real names of the characters and/or locations)

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About The Author

Toby Nwazor is an entrepreneur. He is equally a free lance writer who is passionate about helping other people live their best lives everyday. He is the co-author of the free book Overcoming Failure the Smart Way.

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*Fridays are usually meant for featured writers on the blog.

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