Has God been fair to us? Do you ever wonder? If our relationship with God is transactional, we may feel that he owes us more than we have received. I read today that a famous basketball coach, who allegedly resigned from his program now denies he resigned. No one thinks he will be rehired. It sounds like he is unhappy with the way he has been treated and thinks he deserves more from the university. Who knows who will win?
Jesus told an interesting parable about workers in a vineyard. Have you ever seen a line of day laborers? People sign up to work for a day. In Jesus’ story, he says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out to hire workers. He contracted to pay them a denarius for their work. The plot thickens, though. At nine in the morning, noon, three, and five in the afternoon, he made the same deal. A denarius for each worker. Some worked all day, and others only a little while, but they were all paid the same wage. The fairness alarms go off in our heads. Wait just a minute. Why do people who do less work get the same amount of money?
In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders knew they had done more for God than the tax collectors. What right did the irreligious have to a relationship with God? We who have served the Lord for a lifetime are tempted to the resentment. How can God save the worst people in the world on their deathbeds while we served him for a lifetime? Something is wrong with this picture. The story reminds us of the prodigal son and his angry older brother. The older brother kept score with his dad over the work he did. He couldn’t believe his father would welcome his wasteful little brother. The older brother thought his dad owed him more.
What have we done for the Lord? Are we keeping track? Some have clearly done more than others. But all of us are saved by God’s grace, not by our works. God generously offers salvation to all. We must never resent God’s generosity to the repentant sinner. It is our only hope. What does God owe us? In view of the cross? Nothing at all. At the party for the prodigal, everybody was rejoicing except for the older brother. We do not want to be that person.
