Santa has a problem. A discrimination problem. To the children in rich families, he gives big, extravagant, expensive gifts, and to the children of poorer families, he gives smaller, humbler, cheaper gifts. This is unfair, and not really in keeping with the image who's supposed to be loving and generous to everyone. But if it's a problem when Santa does this, then isn't it a problem when God does it too?
God loves everyone equally, but He doesn't bless us all equally. In the parable of the talents, he gives one person twice as much as he gave another person, and he gave the second person five times as much as he gave the third person. Did He love the first person ten times as much as He loved he third person? No.
In life, there is an incredible amount of imbalance. Some people are given struggles that they don't deserve, and other people are given blessings that they don't deserve. And that's okay. The unfairness and discrimination is only temporary. Through the law of compensation, those who received more struggles than they deserved will receive blessings more than equal to their undeserved pain. And through the justice of God, those who received more blessing than they deserved will lose those blessings at about the same time as they get what they actually do deserve.
In the meantime, the imbalance in God's gift-giving is meant to teach us several lessons. These lessons include humility and gratitude when receiving gifts, generosity in sharing our gifts with others, and patience and faith when waiting for gifts yet to be given. Right now, some people's stockings are stuffed a bit more snugly than other people's, but eventually we'll all be given as much candy or coal as we deserve to be given.
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing this perspective! A good way to look at life's imbalances. (I still think Santa should be more fair, though)
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