There are many mysteries of life that may never be answered:
- 1. How can I over-enunciate the word ‘lasagna’ twelve times and my six-year old daughter still emphatically respond every time with ‘basagna’?
- 2. Is it a conflict of interest that Moses wrote that he was the most humble man that ever lived?
- 3. How is it that ‘evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape?’[Malachi 3:15]
More often than we’d like, to many of life’s maladies we can only look on as flabbergasted spectators. However, the familiar adage ‘Good sailors are not made by calm seas’ is very applicable in today’s volatile and unpredictable economy, where it has never been more apparent just what or in whom our trust is really anchored. Thus, as others prosper, seemingly unaffected by the shadow of the believer’s own stockpile of surmounting hardships, it is altogether quite natural to respond with ‘it’s not fair.’
Dr. Wayne Mack’s new book ‘It’s Not Fair! Finding Hope When Times Are Tough’, coauthored with Deborah Howard, is, “designed to teach a proper, biblical theology, and …throw off the ‘it’s not fair’ mentality.” [p.117]
“It’s Not Fair!” addresses how Christians should not only view disappointments or injustices, but more importantly, as our circumstances are uncertain, to place the outcome of all our expectations at the feet of the One who does not change; the Lord.
Dr. Mack biblically explains four vital attributes of our heavenly Father, that by exercising our awareness and placing our trust and hope in the truths of Scripture, aid in appeasing the sinful mindset of entitlement based on our own standards of justice, provision, or vengeance.
“Sometimes, when our hearts are aching, we may think that what we need is the loving embrace of a compassionate friend. And sure, that helps us feel better. But it’s only a temporary sensation. What actually moves us past our self-absorbed sorrow is a generous dose of solid biblical teaching on the following attributes of God: His wisdom, His love, His justice, His sovereignty” [p.18-19]
As one would anticipate from a nouthetic counselor [www.nanc.org], all four attributes are given extensive biblical support throughout this work, included alongside Dr. Mack’s own terse, straightforward, and easily understood commentary.
God’s wisdom: “If we know and believe that God is all-wise, we will be convinced that God’s interpretation of reality is the only one that is 100 percent accurate. His Word, and not our feelings, is the standard and definition of reality and truth.” [p.29]
God’s love:[after looking at the reality and truth of it, the manifestation of it, and the implications of it, Dr. Mack quotes Jerry Bridges] “If God’s love was sufficient for my greatest need, my eternal salvation, surely it is sufficient for my lesser needs, the adversities I encounter in this life.” [p. 52]
God’s justice: “Righteousness and justice are part of God’s holy nature. He cannot do anything wrong because to do so would be to violate His very nature. Righteousness is not simply something God does - it is part of who He is! We must come to acknowledge that our understanding of justice is finite, whereas God’s is infinite. The standard for justice does not reside in our feeble brain cells, but rests instead in the glorious mind of God. It is not His job to conform His thinking to ours. It is our job to conform our thinking to His.” [p. 60-61]
God’s sovereignty: “The sovereignty of God is wise. The sovereignty of God is loving. The sovereignty of God is just. It’s a package deal! When we’re struggling with ‘it’s not fair,’ we need to reflect on these important truths about God. They function to reassure us that things are not out of control. Though they may seem chaotic and unmanageable to us, we can rest assured that God holds everything in the palm of His hand and knows what’s going on – not only in our lives but in everyone else’s. He knows what’s happening in every molecule of the universe! So please understand that nothing is out of His control.” [p. 82-83]
Additionally, juxtaposed with chapters addressing God’s character, the actual sin of the ‘it’s not fair’ mindset is directly confronted, as it, “is based on a worldly, unbiblical understanding of fairness. We set ourselves up as the judge and jury. It assumes that God is under obligation to perform according to our human standards of fairness.” [p. 106]
Conclusively, this is an outstanding and timely book that would serve very well in a small group setting, each chapter concluding with well-thought questions that encourage transparency. Thus, Dr. Mack addresses theology from a proper Quadrilateral perspective, whereby Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience are our means for deriving theology, however, as our traditions, reason, and experiences change, Scripture does not and thereby retains the priority in the Christian’s evaluation of all circumstances. Therefore, as we are incapable of sometimes controlling the factors and influx that birth our emotions, the Christian is entirely responsible to control our response, actions, and assessments of ‘fairness’. Dr. Mack’s latest book serves well in equipping ambassadors of Christ to anchor their perspectives in the bedrock of God’s immutable Word and character and is highly recommended!
Dr. Wayne Mack is a charter member of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors, an author of more than 20 books that focus on biblical counseling and equipping the church, and currently divides his time between South Africa teaching biblical counseling to pastors and aspiring pastors in the region and the USA teaching at the Expositor’s Seminary, The Master’s College, and the Bible Church of Little Rock Ministry Training School.
Leave a Reply