“But it’s not fair!”
I hear this cry more often in my home now that both my children are old enough to understand a sense of justice and ‘fairness’. Typically the issue is the younger getting away with something or the elder getting to do something that causes the great injustice. Thankfully, for now, my children are still level headed enough for me to sit down and explain why the situation is not the same. They listen … for now.
In Matthew 20:1-16, we find Christ sharing a story of a vineyard owner who went into the town and hired laborers for the day. He went in early in the day and promised a day’s wages. Later, the same owner returned, hiring more laborers at noon and again toward the end of the day. In fact, one batch of laborers only worked a single hour. When the sun had set and the day was done it was time to issue wages. The vineyard owner instructed his foreman to pay those who worked the least first, and those who had been there all day, last. When those who had been there all day saw that those who had been there only an hour were being paid a full day’s wage they became excited as they thought surely they would be paid more than a day’s wage. However, when the first of these laborers stepped up, they also were paid a single day’s wage. The same as those who had only worked an hour. Obviously, this upset those who had been there since sunrise … and I can’t say that I wouldn’t have been as equally upset.
This used to be a hard concept for me to wrap my head around, what God considers fair. Sometimes my initial reaction to a situation would really be no different than that of my child, screaming “that’s not fair” to my heavenly Father above. Maybe a job I really wanted going to someone who never darkened the door of a church or my job gets shipped to another part of the country or even the world. As a teenager, I can recall seeing my parents be honest, but struggle to make ends meet … while seeing those who lied on applications get immediate assistance. It seemed like doing everything counter to God’s standard helped folks get ahead.
At some point in my life, a news article flashed on the screen saying that Jeffry Dahmer was dead. In following reports it was also announced that while in prison, Dahmer turned to Christianity. It occurred to me that if his following of Christ was genuine, then it is entirely possible that I would see him in heaven. It also occurred to me that his victims, if they were not followers of Christ, would spend an eternity in hell. This seemed to me the ultimate of unfairness. Later in life, I would read Dark Journey, Deep Grace by Ray Ratcliff, the man who lead Jeffry Dahmer to Christ. While I still find it hard to process, from all accounts his change of heart was genuine so one day I’ll see Jeffrey in heaven.
This was hard to take. But thankfully, God doesn’t play by my standards of fairness. I say thankfully because if he did, I too would be doomed to an eternity without my heavenly father. I’ve committed murder. In my heart, I’ve committed adultery, I’ve lied, I didn’t always honor my Mother & Father, and every other manner of sin (Matt 5:21-22, 27-28, 31-34, 43-44)… am I not deserving of no less than an eternal death? But God’s sense of fairness is different. His righteousness demands payment for sin, His love puts His son on the cross to take the penalty for that sin. His sacrifice is a gift to us all. We can accept it or deny it. Maybe some will grumble, like the laborers in the vineyard, that we worked harder or longer at “being good”, that somehow we deserve more of a reward … as if there was something of more value than eternity with Christ.
As the vineyard owner responded to the workers, “you received what we agreed upon … am I not allowed to do with what I have as I please? Do you begrudge my generosity?” so Jesus tells us that even the worst of us can be saved. The same gift is given equally, to everyone. Not just Jews, nor just whites, nor just Americans … but everyone; the gift of eternal life is made to everyone if only they would accept.
As I’ve aged and learned more about God, there are still times that something doesn’t seem fair … but I know it’s all part of His plan. One of our Associate pastors once shared that “Grace is when we receive what we don’t deserve, and Mercy is when we don’t receive what we deserve”. I can’t think of a better way to describe something completely and totally unfair.
Praise you God for being so unfair.