God’s ways are not our ways. It is not always easy to understand the ways of God.
In the Gospel parable today (Matt 20:1-16) we see the workers failing to understand why those who worked just one hour received the same wages as those who worked all day. This made those who worked hard in the heat all day became jealous of those who worked for only one hour and yet got the same pay. For them, the landowner is UNFAIR!!! And we can also say the same against the landowner –that he is unfair. The word “unfair” is easy for us to understand because in one way or the other we ourselves experienced being treated unfairly. We cannot deny that in our world, there are more people who are victims of UNFAIR TREATMENT. There are many of us who know of qualified people whose promotion is denied instead it is given to less qualified people. But the landowner justified himself, “I am not unfair!” He said –“I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?” How come did he say this? Well, if we read again our Gospel for today, we will realize the landowner is right in saying he is not unfair. It is said, “A landowner went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.” Here the first batch of workers had agreed upon a set wage: a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. And yes, they were paid according to what they had agreed. What is unfair about this? Thus, the question is not about fairness but of envy. The first batch who worked hard in the heat all day was ENVIOUS of those who worked for only one hour and yet got the same pay. And their envy is expressed by saying “that’s not fair”. They did not realize that their experience of “unfairness” is actually the experience of envy. They felt themselves victimized and they could not see/appreciate the generosity/goodness of the landowner.
Now, we go to reflect on one of the most difficult questions of faith –Is God unfair? It reminds us of our senseless attempts to understand why some people seemingly have been in a better position than others going through life. Why does God apparently give more blessings to others but not to some? Why are there times when God seems to show partiality towards corrupt individuals while letting the innocent ones suffer?
We approach this question from our own light but the answer lies elsewhere. In other words, from our perspective, God seems to be unfair. And because we focus more on our feeling that God is “unfair”, we do not realize that we actually miss the mark of His generosity/goodness every day of our lives. If God was “fair” (balanced with an eye for an eye) we would all be condemned. “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23).
If others have more than you it does not mean that God loves them more while He loves you less. No matter what good fortune comes to others it really doesn’t matter because as followers of Jesus our aim is to use everything for the glory of God. In any case it would be foolish to be envious of others because we only see the outside and we never know what lies behind their success. And so instead of being envious and jealous of those who have been in a better position in life than us there is a better perspective; to be grateful for what we have.
Our Bible teaches us that we are to give thanks to God at all times in all circumstances.
In Ephesians 5:20 we read, “Always and everywhere give thanks to God who is our Father.”
In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 we read, “Be happy at all times; pray constantly and for all things give thanks to God, because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.”
In Colossians 3:17 we read, “Whatever you say or do, let it be in the name of the Lord Jesus, in thanksgiving to God the Father through him.”
So even when others prosper or have more success or better chances, what can we do? We can give thanks to God for the blessings he has given to them and the blessings he has given to us. God deals differently with each of us because God loves each of us in the way that God knows best for us and his kingdom. The attitude to have is one of trust in God –whether He is fair or unfair by man’s definition. We need to listen to God who says:
“Yes, the heavens are as high above earth
as my ways are above your ways.
my thoughts above your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
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