Life's Not Fair!

In Matthew 20, Jesus tells the parable of workers in a vineyard. The vineyard owner goes into town early one morning (around 6 am) to hire help for the day and agrees to pay each worker 1 denarius, a day's wage. There was lost to be done that day so the owner returns to town again at 9 am, noon, 3pm and 5pm to hire more hands. When the work day ends that afternoon (6 pm), the owner gathers the workers together to give them their pay, beginning with those he hired last. Much to the dismay of the men who had put in a full 12 hours, each laborer, even those who had worked only an hour received 1 denarius of pay.

That's not fair right? There's not a CEO in the world who would say that was a fair business deal. Jesus uses this parable who remind us that all people will be offered the same salvation regardless of whether accept Christ as Lord at the age of 5 or 85. This parable gets to the heart of our concept of fairness and reveals a great deal about the things we value most. When it comes to fairness, we have no problem receiving an unmerited gift from somebody else but burn with jealousy as soon as someone is given something they don't deserve. Things will always seem unfair in life until we are able to shift our focus from ourselves and what we deserve to the generosity of the giver.

What if one of the men who had worked 12 hours applauded the owner for his equal payment to a man who had worked one because he recognized the incredible generosity of the owner? If you and I are going to look at life like this man, we need to think less about what we're entitled to and more on the abundant blessings we've each been given. Think about it this way, if you contracted cancer today would you call yourself blessed or would you cry foul against God for dealing you a poor hand in life? Even at my current age of 24 I feel like the most blessed man alive and don't think death or disease could change that. The fact alone that I've been able to live one day on this earth is a miracle in itself and far more than I deserve. Throw in on top of that being married to the the most amazing wife a man can ask for, a loving family, and get to wake up each day and walk around in God's beautiful creation and that's just crazy talk. How can God give a person so much who deserves so little?

If God is so generous and offers salvation to all, why don't we all enjoy life's pleasures now and ask for forgiveness later? When a person lives this way, they spend their entire life searching for meaning, purpose and peace that can only comes through knowing God. Only by agreeing to work in his vineyard and allowing him to be your boss can a person experience the fulfillment and satisfaction that life is meant to have.

What if instead of trying to work the least while getting paid the most, we viewed working for the owner as a privilege and did it to the best of our ability? If the workers in the vineyard had adopted this perspective they would have seen their 12 hour workday as a lucky chance to spend more time with the owner and not an additional burden on their backs. If you and I do the same and begin to appreciate the incredible opportunity we've been given to work for the King of the universe, our lives and work on earth will cease to be a burden and instead becomes an amazing joy and adventure. Are you enjoying being in God's presence throughout your day? Do you realize what an awesome privilege it is to have been asked by the Lord to help further his kingdom? The harvest is plenty, but good workers are hard to find. Keep working for him!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as if working for the Lord and not for man." -Col 3:23