Tag: Fairness

Fairness

Read Matthew 20:1-16

Many of us grew up with parents and grandparents who were committed to fairness in gift giving. Whether it was Christmas, birthdays, graduations, or any other opportunity to give a gift, these important people in our lives would strive to make sure that each child or grandchild received equally. As the receiver of the gifts, anytime we failed to see equity in the giving, we may have  had a tendency to exclaim that it was unfair.

The fairness of giving and receiving is addressed in the story which Jesus tells in our passage for today. Workers hired early in the day protest the fairness of receiving the same daily wage as those who were hired in the final hours of the work day. The vineyard owner is quick to point out that all the workers received exactly the wage for which they agreed to work. The owner continues by lifting up that it was his money being paid so he had the right to determine the amount as long as it was not lower than the agreed upon amount. Jesus was addressing some of the issues regarding the Jews versus the Gentiles in coming to believe. 

This battle of fairness can appear among believers today. People begin believing in the Lord at various points in their lives. There are some who develop a belief early in their lives, maybe because they have been raised in the fellowship of the Church. Others start developing their faith as young adults or even when they reach middle age. Still others may not come to believe until they are facing death. No matter when in life our belief begins, we all receive the fullness of our Lord’s promises fulfilled. In fact we receive this before we even begin to understand our belief. The grace given to all is the Lord’s to give. Instead of crying foul when a new believer accepts the gift of grace and promises fulfilled, we should celebrate.

Fairness

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[a]

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[b] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV)

Many people in life want to be sure that life is fair. This seems like a principle everyone should be able to support. Some work hard to combat what they identify as unfair aspects in life. There are even individuals who not only seek fairness for themselves but also seek fairness for others in situations totally unrelated to their own lives. Sadly, even with all the efforts made to ensure fairness for all, life is still filled with unfairness. Part of the struggle is that what one person identifies as fair does not always match another person’s definition. Add to this that situations outside of human control can make for an unfair dynamic.

This dilemma of unfairness appears in a story which Jesus tells in response to a question about forgiveness. Jesus is approached by Peter who wants to know how many times he should forgive another person. Peter wants to know what a fair expectation might be. Jesus gives a surprisingly high number of times and then tells a story. In the story, a man is forgiven a debt in full. After the debt is forgiven, he encounters another man who owes him a debt. Instead of forgiving the second man’s debt, he has him jailed. Bystanders witness both situations and determine the first man is being unfair so they report him to the one who had forgiven the original debt. This angers the forgiver so he reverses his decision and gives the man the same punishment he gave another. Jesus tells the listeners that so it will be with the Father.

Amazing how the understanding of what is fair can produce such different results. The first man owed a debt. What would be fair in this situation is that the debt be paid using any means available. The person due payment does not require what is fair but instead forgives the debt completely. Then an identical situation presents itself but this time it is the first  debtor who is owed the debt. Here is where the definition of fairness can be a challenge. As in the first account, it is fair to expect the debt to be paid using whatever means available. However, it can also be argued that what is fair in the second situation is altered because of the action of the man who forgave the original debt. The fair thing to do now is for the debt to also be forgiven in the second situation or at minimum more time to be allowed.

We owe a tremendous debt to God. It would be absolutely fair for God to demand payment. Scripture tells us that the wage of sin is death. Yet God does not demand payment but instead offers full and complete forgiveness. In order for us to be fair towards others when they sin against us, we must offer them full and complete forgiveness the same number of times God does for us.