FavOR aiNt fAIr

There's a saying one of my spiritual mentors, the late Dr. Myles Munroe, often quoted, that I carry with me every day of my walk. "When purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable."

That abuse stretches into many areas but one is the mishandling of the word of God. Meaning we take something that is precious and make it profane. We take an idea that the Author used in a specific context of a specific time, era, or social climate and apply it to our "right now" without thought for what the intended point of the message was. Conversely, we can do the opposite and take something meant for everyone and restrict to a specific group of people. Or we can just take religious buzzwords to exalt ourselves above others and make a mockery of God's Word, while destroying people in the process. Reminds me of the catchphrases that I heard ad nauseum for the last twenty plus years like "I'm Blessed and Highly Favored", "Favor Ain't Fair", and other assorted misused ideologies.

I look at my employees and co-workers in our building sideways when I sincerely ask them how they're doing and they respond with the now obligatory "I'm here". Now if I wanted to know your specific location at that moment, responding with "I'm here" might make some sense. But I'm not looking for where you are geographically because I know where you are. I look at people in our religious circles the same way when I pose the same question. Their response is normally "I'm blessed and highly favored" or some variation of the same. I question if answering that by describing your state or condition of being is appropriate either but we'll table that for another time. Let's look at being favored.

My circles, even in twenty plus years of ministry, might be a bit small as a sample size but I have heard the idea of being favored used either as if it is a crown for people God likes more than everyone else or used routinely as a way to avoid answering the true question: How are you?

Remember when the virgin Mary was approached by an angel from the Lord and the greeting he gave her in Luke 1:28-29? He said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you. Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think of what the angel could mean."

Would it be safe to assume that Mary was confused by the greeting because it was not common? Was it something that she had never heard in her ears? People say "Favor Ain't Fair" when they laud something they have over someone who does not have it. Basically, a "believer's" way of saying "Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, you can't have none!" This is not God's method and does not reflect His heart.

We're not favored because we have a nice car. We're not favored because we have a six figure income. We're not favored because we have fourteen children when our neighbor only has one. We're not favored because we remember the scripture address but can't live it and our peers only know a few but apply it to their lives daily.

You say you're "blessed and highly favored"? Mary was blessed and highly favored because she was being given the ability to shift and usher in something that would dramatically alter the course of life for countless people. She was being given a responsibility that would cause her to be shunned, ostracized, mocked, insulted, and disrespected. And to add to that, she had to listen to insults, lies, and even the extreme heights of brutality and then the cruel crucifixion of the same seed that she was blessed and highly favored to bring into this world. She was not favored to lead. She was favored to serve. Now how many of you still want to be "blessed and highly favored"? I'll wait.......

Favor is given for you to serve and not to lead. 

Favor takes you from your loved ones and into far away lands.

Favor put you in a pit and leaves you for dead. 

Favor takes you from comfortable homes into captivity.

Favor needs to be of service to others. 

Favor allows you to govern areas you have no prior background in. 

Favor is not designed to intimidate people beneath you. 

Favor means you will help people and they will forget their promise to you and take you for granted. 

Favor doesn't mean you're better than someone else but it does mean that you have the ability to shift situations for someone else's good and never your own.

Favor means people will use you and they're supposed to. It's activated when in the midst of someone else's need. 

Favor will help save someone else's marriage even if it means putting you in prison when you're innocent. 

Favor has pain because you're more effective easing other people's hurt than you can your own.

Favor is worthless to someone who doesn't like people. 

Favor puts you in high places only to preserve the lives of many not to exalt your position or status.

Just ask Joseph. (Genesis 37 through Genesis 50:26 for context)

Is that fair?