WHEN TREATED UNFAIRLY

1. People do not need to be too old before they learn that life is not fair.

2. As school begins our children are going to be reminded of this fact again and again.

3. Some children are disciplined for the smallest infractions while worse offenders go unpunished.

4. In the work force people face unfair treatment.

5. There have been examples of unfairness in the church.

6. Long before we came along others saw that life is not fair.

7. The Hebrew people decided that the problems related to fairness must be related to God.

8. If a person was not being treated fairly or well, he or she must have been guilty of sin.

9. This was an interesting idea but the Hebrews discovered that in some cases it was not right.

10. Sometimes people received unfair treatment but there was no basis for it.

11. This caused the Hebrews to adjust their belief.

12. Instead of saying that the person who received the unfair treatment was guilty of sin,

13. The Hebrews reasoned that a relative must have been guilty.

14. This is seen in Jn. 9:1-3 – READ .

15. The disciples said, “who sinned—this man or his parents?”

16. Most of the people in the world could see; this man was blind.

17. Being Hebrews they reasoned in the way that they had been taught.

18. Either the man was guilty of sin or his parents were guilty of wrongdoing.

19. Jesus said that their explanations were incorrect.

20. Sin was not responsible for a man’s blindness.

UNFAIRNESS EXISTS IN THE WORLD AND JESUS SAID THAT IT IS NOT ALWAYS RELATED TO SIN. WHEN WE ARE NOT TREATED FAIRLY HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND? WHAT PASSAGES IN GOD’S WORD SHOULD BE APPLIED WHEN PEOPLE DO NOT TREAT US IN A WAY THAT IS RIGHT?

A. There are several verses that may be applied.

B. One of the most well known (but perhaps least used for this subject) is found in Mt. 7.

C. Here Jesus spoke about judgment.

D. The Lord described judgment that is hypocritical or fault finding.

E. He said that His people are to avoid making these kinds of judgments.

F. He illustrated his point in the 4^th verse.

G. I want to read this verse and then comment on it.

H. Mt. 7:4 – READ.

2. Just outside these walls we have some very large poles.

3. These poles range from 30-40’ in height.

4. These poles are the kind of object that Jesus described by the word “beam.”

5. Beams were the kind of thing that people used in massive building projects.

6. Knowing what the “beams” were provides us with an interesting illustration.

7. Imagine a man who has one of the 30’ pole along State Road 15 sticking out of his eye.

8. Would we not say that such a man clearly has a problem?

9. This man with the 30’ pole in his eye (and this is the Lord’s illustration, not mine) sees someone else.

10. This second person has something in his or her eye.

11. There is a small piece of dirt in the second person’s eye.

12. The man with the 30’ pole says, “I can see that you are having problems. Let me help you.”

13. What would we say to such an offer?

14. We would tell the fellow exactly what Jesus said in Mt. 7.

15. “You take care of the beam in your eye and then you can be concerned about the dust in my eye.”

A. Let’s apply this information to the times when we are treated unfairly.

B. People may not deal with us in a way that is just.

C. There may be no question that people are unfair to us.

D. As we look at Mt. 7 we find that the fact of the unfairness is not the only issue.

E. The other consideration is what about our own life?

F. Do we have a 30’ pole in our eye while we are complaining about someone else’s speck?

G. In many cases unfair treatment is little more than a speck when it is compared to our own life.

16. Most of us have seen someone rant and rave at a store manager.

17. Sometimes the fits that people throw are based upon unfair treatment.

18. Some who are treated unfairly curse and try to humiliate someone.

19. In cases such as this is there not a speck and is there not a beam?

A. Yes.

B. The consumer who is angry, verbally vicious, short tempered, hateful, and rude, has the beam.

C. The company or store manager has the speck or maybe 4 or 5 specks.

20. When we are treated unfairly we want to insure that there is no beam in our own eye.

21. Part of our reason for doing this is found in Mt. 7:2 – READ.

22. In life and in eternity the kind of attitude we display will be reflected back to us.

23. THERE IS A SECOND CONSIDERATION TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN WE ARE NOT TREATED FAIRLY.

A. This also comes from the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:44).

B. To get the entire thought before us I want to read verses 40-45 – READ.

C. Some have concluded that these verses mean that we should let people walk all over us.

D. Let’s take a closer look at what Jesus said.

E. In verse 41 Jesus said to “go two miles” instead of one.

F. The Lord did not say “go an unlimited number of miles.

G. In verse 40 He spoke of people taking clothing, not our house and car.

H. When we are treated unfairly there are some limits.

I. Limits also apply to the information in verse 42 – READ .

J. Suppose someone said “I want your car, house, boat, and your bank accounts.”

K. Would we be required to give these things to anyone who asks for them?

L. The answer is no.

M. Jesus spoke of legitimate needs, not wants or wishful thinking.

N. We are not obligated to let people strip us of what we have so they can profit at our expense.

O. At the same time we are to sometimes allow ourselves to be treated in an unethical matter.

24. When people do treat us in a way that is not right Jesus has a solution.

25. Verses 44-45A – READ.

26. From Mt. 7 and Mt. 5 we are left with some simple but profound instructions.

27. First, we must insure that we do not have a beam in our own eye.

28. We then pray for those who are unfair to us and seek to “love” them.

29. To these two things we may add some information from Mt. 6.

30. In this section of the sermon Jesus had some things to say about prayer.

31. He gave His disciples an example of proper prayer.

32. He showed them the kinds of things that they should say when talking to God.

33. At the end of the prayer He said this – 6:14-15 – READ.

34. When people do not treat us fairly it can be temping to hold a grudge.

35. The natural tendency may be to harbor ill feelings and resentment.

36. The Lord said that His people are the kind of persons who “forgive men of their trespasses.”

37. If people have not treated us fairly, we love them anyway. We forgive them.

A. To this it might be said that the unfairness we experienced was especially bad.

B. Someone was deliberately inconsiderate and mean.

C. The unfairness we experienced was awful.

D. Let’s say that all these things are true.

E. Hear what Paul had to say in Col. 3:13 – READ.

38. PAUL TOUCHED ON THE THIRD KEY RELATED TO UNFAIR TREATMENT.

39. He spoke about Jesus.

40. The Lord was not treated fairly.

A. This lack of fairness occurred long before the cross.

B. In Jn. 1:11 it is said that Jesus “came unto His own and they received Him not.”

C. This is a bit of an understatement.

D. Jesus was not just rejected by people; He was openly hated.

E. He came to “His people” but most of them had no interest in Him.

F. John stressed the point in 3:32 by saying that no one “received” the Lord’s witness.

G. This is a hyperbole (an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis).

H. In Mt. 17:12 Jesus said that He would “suffer.”

I. Lk. 17:25 adds that Jesus would suffer “many things.”

J. In Jn. 7:5 it is said that members of the Lord’s earthly family did not believe in Him.

41. It is one thing to be treated unfairly at work or school.

42. We may expect to receive unfair treatment when we are out in the world.

43. Most expect a little better treatment from the people they live with.

44. Most children look forward to fair treatment from mom and or dad.

45. The same is true for husbands and wives.

46. The Lord was not treated fairly by some of the people in the household He grew up in.

47. Jesus did “many signs” (Jn. 12:37) but still “many” disbelieved.

48. This was not fair.

49. Jesus was “denied before the face of Pilate” (Acts 3:13).

50. This too was unfair.

A. The lack of fairness in the Lord’s life is also seen in His death.

B. The Lord was unfairly arrested, tried, beaten, and crucified.

C. In spite of all the unfairness Jesus emphasized forgiveness.

D. In Col. 3:13 Paul said, “do likewise.”

51. I recently read about a young man who was asked to define forgiveness.

52. He had a beautiful and wise response.

53. He said, forgiveness “Is the odor that flowers breathe when they are trampled on.”

A. When some objects are squashed or crushed they emit an odor.

B. Some of the smells are pleasant and some are not.

C. When are treated unfairly, what kind of scent comes from us?

D. Is it the kind of spirit described and demonstrated like the Lord?

E. Is it like the little boy described?

F. Or, is it undesirable?

54. The right response comes from the right kind of life.

55. The right kind of the life is being a New Testament Christian who is faithful to God.

56. Have we become a member of the church built by Christ?