Why Does Life Seem So Unfair?

by Philip Graham Ryken

Photo by Inzmam Khan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-shirt-and-gray-denim-pants-sitting-on-gray-padded-bench-1134204/

Questioning God

It’s so unfair. Have you ever said that to God? Or even if you haven’t said it, did you think it?

Sooner or later, life is going to seem really unfair. And even if it doesn’t seem unfair for you, you see somebody else’s situation, maybe somebody you care about, and it really seems unfair for them.

Psalm 73 gives an answer to this question of the fairness of God. It’s the story of Asaph. He felt like things were so unfair, and it really caused him to lose his grip on his faith. He almost slipped away from God entirely. It was a really close call for him because he looked around, he saw people that were evil, and they seemed to be really wealthy and super healthy and very popular. These were the evil people that God should be punishing. And here he was trying to serve the Lord.

Asaph says out loud to God all the things that he thinks are really unfair, he surprises us in the middle of his psalm because he says, If I had said all of that…Suddenly, you realize this was all a big hypothetical.

If he had complained to God and if he had talked about how unfair God was, then he would’ve lost his faith. But he didn’t. Asaph didn’t back away from God when he had questions about God’s fairness.

As he was there in worship, he suddenly realized, This isn’t going to end well for people that don’t follow God. God is a God of fairness and righteousness. He is a God who rewards those who are faithful to him.

He reached a place of peace and settled-ness, and he said at the end of his song, it’s good for me to be in this place where I’m near God.

It’s good for us to be near God too, and it’s particularly good for us to be near to Jesus Christ. Jesus went through the most unfair things that have ever happened. He was the sinless Son of God, and yet he was wrongfully condemned. He was put to death in an excruciatingly painful way. None of it was deserved. If anybody could say, “This isn’t fair”, it was Jesus of Nazareth. He was willing to go through all that for our forgiveness so that we could be reconciled to God.

Taken from Why Does Life Seem So Unfair?  By Philip Graham Ryken Copyright © August 8, 2025. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.