We’ve all heard it. We probably all said it. 

Hey, that’s not fair!!! 

You’ve probably thought that something was unfair at one time or another. Maybe when your younger brother or sister got something you did not get or was treated differently from how you were treated in a similar situation. Perhaps it was when someone else got the job or promotion over you when you have the same education and experience as they do. We tend to like things to be fair, and when they are not, we gripe. But it’s not always that way. God is not always fair. Have you read Matthew 20:1-16? It says, 

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ So the last shall be first, and the first last.”

What a remarkable parable taught by Jesus that challenges us to think outside the box when it comes to what is fair. There are two responses we should have as a result of this challenging pericope: 

  • We should acknowledge and celebrate the fact that God is not always fair. To clarify, let’s define our terms. To be fair is to be right and just in light of reality around us. Therefore, we should be happy that God is not fair when dealing with us who are followers of Jesus. We see this truth outlined in this parable. The landowner and the day workers agree to a specific wage. It was a fair wage. These people were looking for work, and the landowner agreed to a particular price to make the deal. Those hired also agreed upon the amount to be paid at the end of the day. The landowner eventually needed more workers, and the typical workday was from 6am to 6pm. But now it’s 9am, and then he needed even more workers, then again at noon, 3pm, and 5pm. With the first, they agreed upon a denarius payment. With the others, they apparently just trusted the man to pay them what they thought was fair for their work. Then we see when the workday ended, the landowner told the manager to pay each worker for the labor. It is at this point that the story gets exciting and lively. We learn that the owner says to pay the last ones he hired first. Then those hired first that morning began to notice how much the workers who worked part of the time were getting paid. When the first workers got in line to be paid, they thought they would get more money because they had worked the whole day. They felt they deserved more. Once they got paid, they thought, “Hey, that’s not fair!!! In their own mind, they had already expected one thing when another actually occurred. While this parable does not teach us about good business practices or management skills, it does teach us about the grace of God. 

We must understand that God’s grace is not always fair in our minds. He does not own us ANYTHING. What and how we would do things is not what and how God will do things. While we might think it is not fair, it demonstrates the love, mercy, and grace of God. It may not seem just and right to us, but we are not the dividing out grace and salvation. God is, and He knows how to do it justly and fairly according to His love, not ours. 

  • We should be generous with God’s unfairness. Don’t live so that others never see how God’s grace and love have impacted our lives. Don’t try to hoard God’s grace and love for yourself. We don’t deserve it. In all fairness, we deserve to be punished for our own sins. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (Ephesians 2:4-6). We need to be willing to share this with others. Look at verses 9-12 again, When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ All these workers were jealous and irritated because their manager was generous. Notice that the manager asked them in verses 15 “is your eye envious because I am generous?” We should never be jealous because someone received God’s forgiveness no matter how hard they worked or did not work. God’s reward is not just for us; it is for all who come to repentance and obey Him. We should want God to show mercy and compassion to whomever he wants. We need to be excited about sharing the message of Jesus and allow other people to respond with open arms running to their Savior as the one who can save them from hell. We must tell our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and community. We must take the gospel and teach others how to teach others. We must share God’s unfairness and never be hateful because God shows grace to someone in the eleventh hour or last minute. 

God does not owe us anything. He is the Creator, and we are the creatures. He is rich in mercy and grace and has shown unmerited favor toward us. His love is unfair, and we don’t deserve it. Our job is simple… share the unfairness of God’s grace with others. 

I love you, 

Alex