1 Chronicles 26:10 (KJV)
Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons; Simri the chief, (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the chief;)
We had a father in the last church I pastored who was fairly well off and had made his income on his own. He did not grow up in a wealthy home. He just had a gift for making money. I can’t explain it, and I doubt he could have either. He was soft-spoken, giving, kind, and gracious. But he could make money.
Having the resources he did, he did not want his children to think of themselves as entitled. He wanted them to know the realities of life. So he did things with his kids that some of us might question. For instance, he would pull into an ice cream stand and buy just one of them a cone. He chose which one. He chose randomly—not based on who had done something right or who had just come from the dentist. He simply chose one and gave that child something they did not deserve, and did not give it to the others—who sat there watching their sibling eat it.
He wanted them to understand that life is like that. It cannot be explained—life is simply not fair.
I think Hosah illustrates a theme that carries throughout this chapter. We read of strong men, men of valour, able men for strength, great men—and for every one of them there must have been small men, weak men, less able men, ill men, even cowardly men.
For every leader, there are hundreds—sometimes thousands—of followers. Seldom in life do we get to choose which we are.
Though Simri was not the firstborn, his father made him chief of his brethren anyway. I wonder what his brethren were to do?
I do not want to imply that we should be fatalists, accepting our station in life without any effort to improve. But I will say this: one will always be better off if he accepts that things are not always fair and does not allow himself to grow envious of those who have more substance, live in a healthier body, enjoy a brighter mind, or gain a promotion we would have liked.
Sometimes someone else gets the ice cream cone. It’s just not going to do us any good to be upset about it.
Better to be faithful than bitter.
#FaithOverFairness #BeFaithfulNotBitter #BibleTruths #ContentmentInChrist #ServeWhereYouAre
The Ice Cream Lesson: About Envy and Faithfulness
What do you do when life doesn’t feel fair? Have you ever watched someone else receive what you hoped for?
Drop a comment below—I’d genuinely like to hear how you’ve handled those moments.
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