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When our oldest son went off to college to play football and get his education, I sent him a picture of a beaten up, dirty, slightly blooded football player who had been through a tough day. Under the picture I wrote, “Life is not fair. Life is what you make it!” He kept that picture on his wall and looked at it every day. The message got through and today he is a very successful young man.

People misunderstand the Law of Fair Value. They think that “fair” means equality or that everyone gets the same breaks—right?

Wrong!

We hear children cry out in frustration, “Play fair!” But soon we find out that life is not fair, life is not equitable and many times life is unkind. Once again we come back to my statement, “Life is what you make it!” For those that sit around waiting for life to be fair it will be a long wait.

Now, having said that, I can do my best to make it fair in “my world” and that is what Hope-Givers do. Being fair is not as much about equality of results as it is about equality of opportunity. It’s about leveling the playing field by getting rid of bias, deception or favoritism. It’s about allowing every person the same opportunity. Some people take this too far and think that to be fair we must guarantee everyone the same result and that is not true. God gives everyone the same opportunity, but you must bring about your own
results.

Hope-Givers try to enlighten people so they can see the opportunities available. Hope-Givers help others understand how to take advantage of the opportunities, but Hope-Givers cannot guarantee or produce the results for others, each Hope-Seeker must do that on their own.

Capitalism basically comes down to what the market will bear. While I understand this, there is a thin line that should not be crossed between getting paid the best price and taking advantage of the Hope-Seeker and thus becoming a Hope-Monger.

The scriptures do say that the workman is worthy of his hire and that does not just mean minimal payment. In fact in the Old Testament, people would give more in payment to show honor to God and God’s blessing on their lives. But it should be something that is good for both parties. If a price is fair, it is fair, even if it looks high to some buyers, it really comes down to what you get in return.

I think Wallace Wattles example in “The Science of Getting Rich” is a decent one to think about. I am not quoting it exactly but the essence of the illustration was that someone in New York City may pay $5000 for a painting and be very happy with the deal. Both the buyer and the seller agree this is good.

But take that same painting and try to sell it to an Eskimo who lives in an igloo. Now the $5000 painting has no value. It doesn’t mean that the painting itself is of no value, but the painting has no value to the Eskimo.

Now offer that same Eskimo a rifle and a year’s supply of ammunition and $5000 is a deal, because now he can feed himself and his family. So what is fair trade? It’s not the same for everyone. It comes down to the parties involved and what is best for both sides AND if what is being sold has real value.

Some Hope-Mongers today are only selling perceived value and at a very high price. Don’t just listen to numbers they “appear” to crunch, make sure they translate into real life.

It is true that if 100 people a week buy your ebook at only $20 you will make over $100K a year, but The Truth is you have to find those 100 people every week AND get them to buy.

Yes the Hope-Monger may show you that there are a million people interested in your topic so it’s a no-brainer, right? Not really, those are all just figures and numbers, not reality.

As I have said before the Law of Fair Trade gives equal opportunity and benefits both parties involved and both parties realize a true value being exchanged regardless of the price. Hope-Givers provide these opportunities so everyone can benefit.

Now to our next Law—the Law of Like Kind.