life's not fair!

[5/28/14  8:27 pm]

"no, really???"

but seriously, isn't that what we've all always been taught?  i mean, everyone's heard that "life's not fair," or even, as my brother says, "if life was fair, we'd all be going to Hell."  but see if this sounds familiar:

you reap the consequences of your actions.

yes?  this is tricky though, because it's true.  every action does have some kind of consequences.  and while it's also often true that positive consequences come from wise actions (if wise = morally right), and negative from unwise, it's not the hard and fast rule that people (i, at least) take it for.

ahem...

"It is possible to commit no errors and still  lose.  That is not a weakness . . . that is life."
-Captain Jean-Luc Picard

reworded: just because you do something right does not mean that it won't turn out badly, and just because you do something wrong doesn't mean that you won't get away with it, even benefit from it (in the short term).

this is so obvious, it's ridiculous.  even Christ, perfectly loving in every way, was backstabbed at every turn, especially by those who should have been the first to know Him.

i've grown up with this kind of teaching for as long as i've been alive.  i don't follow Christ because it's the easy thing, or because it will solve all my problems (right away), or any of the other things that they always tell you at church (that are true).

so why is it that when something goes wrong, i start searching frantically for where the mistake was made?


edit: a few more questions, because no post is complete if it doesn't leave you with more questions than you started with.
how am i supposed to tell the difference between consequences for my poor decisions, a spiritual attack/testing/plan, or just life that happens?  or is there even a differentiation to be made?  are they perhaps masterfully directed and integrated into each other?