• About The Sophia Center

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

~ Spanning the denominations in NY's Southern Tier

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Tag Archives: envious

Fair

23 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

envious, fair, generosity, generous, good, grace, Jesus, love, Matthew, perspective, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

apiesliceIt’s amazing what you can find when you start researching one little word like “fair.” We know it to be a noun and an adjective – with differing meanings, so it’s necessary to put it in context so that you know whether you’re talking about going to a carnival or watching the weather. I went to Merriam-Webster, the most trusted etymological source in my youth, just on a whim, and found 10 examples before I even moved to the nouns or added an “ly” to make it an adverb.

Why this interest? Well, I was just looking for a deeper understanding of why Jesus thought paying people for one hour of work when some others had worked all day was, in a word, fair. (MT 20:1-16) In the end, it really wasn’t a question of fairness at all. The key question of Jesus that put it all in perspective was: Are you envious because I am generous?

It is our small mind that keeps us trapped in the need for everything to be the same for everyone. Families go to court when they don’t see a “fair” distribution of their parent’s wealth – never mind the financial situations of the parties involved!. Children fight over who got the biggest piece of pie at dinner whether or not they can even manage to finish it because the meal was so big. “Fair’s fair,” we say, which – if we’re not careful – can morph into “All’s fair in love and war.”

I know that I’m most likely preaching to the choir here. The people who read these posts probably understand the generosity of God and are less attached to “things” and the examples I have given above. But even for those of us who profess to be “on our way to the kingdom” there is often that niggling little voice inside that catches us off-guard when we are not noticed for praise the way our brother is, or given the attention or recognition that our sister gets.

Today might be a day to look for instances of the generosity of God in our own life and the lives of others and give thanks for what we see, regardless of the beneficiary of this grace. May this practice lead us to the central truth of it all: that everything good and pure and generous and profitable springs from love and that letting go into love is the fairest of gifts we can know in this life.

 

 

 

 

 

Donate to The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Donate

Our other websites

  • Main website
  • Facebook page

Visitors

  • 100,411 hits

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,046 other subscribers

Recent Posts

  • The “O Antiphon” Meditations
  • Memorial to be held this Sunday
  • Mark your calendars
  • A note to readers
  • “Hope Springs Eternal…”

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Archives

  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • The Sophia Center for Spirituality
    • Join 560 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Sophia Center for Spirituality
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...