Acts 16:1-5

Being righteous requires more of some Christians than of others. Satan will immediately begin to whisper to you that this is not fair. I used to tell my daughters, “Life is not fair; fair is an idea Satan uses to steal our happiness and contentment.”

Before Paul would take Timothy on his journey, he required Timothy to undergo circumcision. Remember that the purpose of the journey was to tell gentile Christians that circumcision was not a requirement for believers. Circumcision for an adult male such as Timothy was painful and unpleasant. I could be wrong, but I suspect that Satan immediately began to tell Timothy that God and Paul were being unfair. From our limited, human, point of view, it does not seem right that Timothy would have to experience pain that other Christians did not. However, it was not an arbitrary decision. There were many good and sound reasons behind it.

Timothy’s mother was Jewish, and the Jews believe that anyone who had a Jewish mother was a Jew. Paul was delivering the decision reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, but he was still acting as an evangelist. In each town, he would begin his work, as was his habit, by speaking in the local synagogues. They would not have allowed him to speak if he was in the company of an uncircumcised Jew.

The nature of the mission necessitated the requirement for Timothy to do something that other Christians did not have to do. Many years ago, a pastor and his wife quit wearing their wedding bands, because they accepted the pastorate of a church that believed it was ungodly to wear gold or jewelry. Where, when or how we are to minister may require more of us than of others. Those requirements can range from inconvenient all the way to painful.

When ministry requires more than seems fair, Christ is our example. The cross was not fair, but He went willingly. Love does not demand fairness for self; love sacrifices for others.