Beyond Fairness: Understanding God’s Inverted Kingdom

I am sure you have heard a child bemoan something that is not fair. Maybe something like, "My sister can stay up late, but I can't - that’s not fair." Or, "He got a bigger piece of cake. That's not fair!"

That's because fairness is a natural way of making sense of the world for children. But children are not alone. Adults tend to think along the same lines, but we whisper it to ourselves instead of blurting it out loud.

Have you ever thought to yourself, “His marriage is better. That’s not fair Lord, I am a better husband.” Or maybe, “He makes more money. That’s not fair Lord, I have more education.” Have you ever caught yourself saying, “He has a far better ministry. That’s not fair Lord, I have been more loyal to your word”?

Before we continue, let's stop and acknowledge that there are unfair practices in this world. Injustices do exist. But we tend to focus on petty displays of unfairness, like the success of others compared to our own accomplishments. One preacher calls this wearing fairness glasses. When we see our lives through fairness glasses, we either feel recognized or ignored. Years ago, I learned that when I put on fairness glasses I always feel like I am in last place when I deserve to be in first.

Christ’s parable of the vineyard and the workers recorded in Matthew 20:1-16 tells us something about wearing fairness glasses. The parable is not intended to teach us how to run a business. It is not about giving hand-outs to the underprivileged and it is not a story about equality of income or equity. The parable describes the kingdom of heaven and tests how we think about God.

When this parable was told, it was not uncommon to hire more laborers when the harvest was ready. In this account, Christ explains that the master hired day laborers to work his vineyard for a denarius each, the common day’s wage. The twelve-hour workday began at 6 am. Later, the master went out at 9 am (the 3rd hour) and hired more men, promising to pay what was right. The work must have been plentiful because the master went out again at noon (6th hour) and hired more of the men who were standing around waiting for work.

The hours passed and the hope to be hired was diminishing yet these men waited holding out for work because half a day’s pay is better than none. Surprisingly, the owner of the field went out yet again and hired more workers at 3 pm (9th hour). Finally, at the very eleventh hour of the day, at 5 pm the master hired another group to work alongside all the previous laborers.

When it was time to be paid, the last were first and the first were last. Surprisingly, the last group worked but one hour and received the same pay as those who worked the entire 12-hour shift. Naturally, the early workers objected – “It’s not fair.” Like us, they too believed that the early bird is to get the worm. When they saw the pay of the late workers, they thought they would be receiving far more than a denarius, but they were wrong. The master answered their chiding with three questions in vv. 13-15. These questions reveal truths about God that challenge how we view fairness.

1. GOD ALWAYS ACTS WITH COMPLETE INTEGRITY.

The first question from verse 13 says, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?” The truth is that God always acts with complete integrity, even when he doesn’t do what we want him to do. Notice that the eyes of the early workers were diverted from the master to the workers themselves. God always seems unfair when we place our attention on ourselves.

We tend to believe that God grades on a curve by taking an average of all pastors, and of course, we end up somewhere right-of-center, close to the front. However, notice that the master was doing no wrong to the employees: As long as he gave what he promised he was being fair. This is what they agreed to be paid – a day’s wage – a denarius. This was the contracted amount. This was what they worked so hard for. We tend to think that the master was unfair as well. I certainly wouldn’t want a boss to do that to me. Imagine working an entire shift of hard labor in the hot sun and then someone coming and working a mere 60 minutes and getting the same pay. Like the people in this parable, we too let our eyes get diverted from the Father to ourselves.

We tend to ask, “Is this fair to me?” when we should be asking: "Has God been true to me?" Or better yet, we should ask, "Has God given me what he promised?" knowing that God always acts with complete integrity and in accord with his purpose and will. Instead, we think that God has given others more. We enjoy looking over the fence to see how blessed others are but only to know whether they are more blessed than us: Has God blessed them more than me? Look at that family. Look at how his wife loves him. Look at how understanding and caring his congregation is. Look at the size of his ministry. Look at his children. Look at their home. Look at his skill. Look at his opportunities. Look at his looks.

As you well know, the comparison never ends. No matter how much you have been blessed, if you divert your gaze from God to men, God will look like he has cheated you. Just as people forget what we have done for them, so we forget what God has done for us.

2. GOD IS ABSOLUTELY SOVEREIGN.

The second question from verses 14-15 asks, "Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?" The answer is that “It belongs to me and I can therefore do with it as I please.” As we each know too well, we are not in control. God is. All we own actually belongs to God including, and especially, our ministries. And so God can dispense what he owns according to how he wants. And we can trust what he wants because he is wise and good. We can trust that he will dispense to us according to his choice and according to his integrity. He does not give to us according to our labor but according to his wise grace.

The truth is that if God were to give to us according to what is fair we would each be in great trouble because we are sinners and fairly deserve judgment. Instead of saying, “I just want my fair share” we need to plead for grace. Great challenges come from not believing this.

As disciples of Christ, we should know God well enough to trust him. Obviously, the better the character of the employer, the better it is for the employee. So keep in mind that the character of our Master is impeccable, without stain or blemish. God is the sovereign shepherd over our churches and lives, not us. Is he not allowed to do what he chooses with what belongs to him?

This is where sanctification comes in. I learned this seemingly obvious lesson after years in ministry. God uses what we would call unfair, to mold and sanctify us. The very things we deem unfair, cruel, or negligent on God’s part are what God is using to bring us closer to him. And as we serve Christ’s church year after year, we learn that sanctification is not an event but a process and God uses circumstances to carry out the process of sanctification. The early workers in this parable believed they had a right to more and forgot that God is not a debtor to anyone.

3. GOD IS WONDERFULLY GRACIOUS

The third question from the latter half of verse 15 asks, " Or do you begrudge my generosity?” Literally, it reads “Or is your eye evil because I am generous?” Are you jealous of God's great generosity to someone else? Here is a good question to ask ourselves and maybe our congregations too: Is your God generous? Most would say “Yes” because of all we possess. How about if we ask ourselves, “Is God generous enough to me?” How do you answer? Many would whisper that God seems to be more generous to others. We think, “Well, he can spare a little more generosity my way.” How many of us pastors would say, “He has been more generous than I deserve”?

Is your God generous? If you are often complaining that you did not get enough money, acknowledgment, praise, respect, pleasure, titles, or worth, it will be hard to rejoice in God’s generosity to others.

It would be wrong of me to make no effort to explain the parable hermeneutically, so here it is. A vineyard normally is a reference to the nation of Israel or God’s people. And in this case, the early laborers were the religious Israelites who labored for God for long centuries. Then along came the Gentiles and sinful, common Jews who were devoted to God for only a short portion of the time. And yet, God’s grace and generosity to them is no different than to the religious Jews. The Jew’s response was to give the Master the evil eye – a rage of jealousy and demand for their rights. Now, they could have been grateful that God would care for the others too, but instead of focusing on the Master, they focused on themselves.

Do you rejoice in God’s generosity to others? This familiar parable can be a test for us. Are you grateful when God is generous to someone else? Christian maturity is noted when you cheer for those who are blessed by God even when they are blessed more than you. Left to ourselves, many of us live in a constant state of comparison, looking over the fence to see not their blessings but to measure our blessing against theirs and figure out whether God is being fair.

It is so easy for our lives to be reduced to that assessment. If we look long enough we will find someone who has been blessed more which means our lives are reduced to what we have not received. Social media is a constant temptation for this comparison. Conferences can also lead us in that same comparison direction. Even cohorts can feed our sense of being treated unfairly. Instead, we should rejoice with those who experience great amounts of God’s grace saying, “Thank you Lord that your grace does not stop with me.”

The last verse (v. 16) reads, “So the last shall be first and the first shall be last.” I’m reminded that this is not a riddle or math problem. It is a declaration that in the kingdom of God, the rules are inverted. Those who think they should be first, will discover that they are last and those who believe they should be last will discover that they will be placed at the front of the line.

As I read this parable, a nagging thought keeps surfacing – There is either something wrong with this parable or there is something wrong with the reader. Either God is unfair or we do not understand grace. The answer is in the fact that God is wonderfully gracious, he is not fair, and he does not give what we deserve. Rather, he blesses us with more than what we deserve so that we can say, “Thank you Lord that your grace does not stop here. Lord, may I use your blessings for your glory.”

And if I cannot understand this as a Christian leader, then there is something wrong with how I see myself before the eternal God.