What is fairness?

  • Thread starter Thread starter aquohn
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

aquohn

Guest
I know it’s an unusual place to draw inspiration from, but a character in the 2010 novel The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan states that “Fairness doesn’t mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need.” At first I agreed vaguely, but far later, upon deeper reflection, I realise it is possible that fairness could mean ‘Everyone gets what they should’: you know, pay a fair wage to the workman and all. So, under Catholic theology, which should it be?
 
I did not feel I could vote for any of the options.
What each of us should get is entirely up to God. What we need to decide is what we deserve to get from God. And more immediately - what we can give to others out of our Love for God.

To be honest, I don’t particularly see “fairness” as being something applicable to the NT Christian life.
Fairness seems to imply some “minimum” not necessarily in keeping with the Christian idea of “emptying” oneself for others and being a conduit for God’s Love. In the example of paying the worker a “fair wage”, what constitutes “fair” and who makes that determination? If the employer pays (what he considers) a “fair wage” - which provides only for the worker’s “needs” (as he sees their needs) but he himself becomes rich and able to acquire many things that he does not need but “wants” - has he been fair?

Fairness is certainly a principle that fits well with the OT concepts built upon the Mosaic Law and works well there but not so much in the NT.

That said…

I see “fairness” as it would be applied in the NT as each person seeking only that which he himself needs for his “daily bread” - that is, his daily needs. Likewise each person seeks to give to others as much as they are able so that they might meet their needs.
As an example - parable -
A man of means comes upon a beggar. Moved by compassion he invites the beggar into his home telling the beggar, “From my Love of God, All that I have is yours even to the half of my possessions.”
The beggar, moved by this generosity responds. “Good sir, my needs are small. Give me but a meal, a bath, a change of clothes, a bed for the week and a few coins for my purse. With this I hope to acquire a job and this is all I shall need.”

The above example shows “Christian fairness”. The willingness to give freely on the one hand, and the desire to take only that which is truly and most usefully “needed” on the other.

That’s my view on the matter anyway.

Peace
James
 
Everyone gets the same 1 33.33%
Everyone gets what they need 1 33.33%
Everyone gets what they should 1 33.33%
 
In Matthew Chapter 7 Jesus lay out some clear statements about fairness. There are others passages in the Gospels and NT that tell us of the Justice that our Merciful God will apply to each human being.

If everyone got the same, we would all end either Heaven or Hell.

If everyone got what they need, we would all end in Heaven.

If everyone got what they should, justice would prevail.

If someone is a lazy mooch he does not deserve the same rewards Bill Gates got for inventing DOS and Wndows. Flight attendants do a great job, but they do not get the same reward as pilots.

Yet JUSTICE also requires each of us to be wise stewards of what we have.
And LOVE requires that we not be selfish.
 
GratefulFred said:
In Matthew Chapter 7 Jesus lay out some clear statements about fairness. There are others passages in the Gospels and NT that tell us of the Justice that our Merciful God will apply to each human being.

If everyone got the same, we would all end either Heaven or Hell.

If everyone got what they need, we would all end in Heaven.

If everyone got what they should, justice would prevail.

If someone is a lazy mooch he does not deserve the same rewards Bill Gates got for inventing DOS and Wndows. Flight attendants do a great job, but they do not get the same reward as pilots.

Yet JUSTICE also requires each of us to be wise stewards of what we have.
And LOVE requires that we not be selfish.
Click to expand...
👍 Excellent and insightful analysis!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top