September 12 - A Fair and Square God

A Fair and Square God

“He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go.’”  Matthew 20:13,14

One of the most common internet urban myths spread by emails is that Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, once spoke to a high school graduation and shared some practical life rules. Bill Gates never did that. But California educator, Charles Sykes, DID create the rules attributed to Bill Gates. So using Dr. Sykes’ list, let’s countdown The Top Seven Life Rules you won’t learn in high school:

Rule 7: Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 6: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off, and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
Rule 5: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault so don’t whine about your mistakes. Learn from them.
Rule 4: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger-flipping; they called it opportunity.
Rule 3: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.
Rule 2: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one. (That’s probably why the list was attributed to Bill Gates.)
And the #1 Rule you won’t learn in High School is: Life is not fair. So get used to it.

When Charles Sykes was asked how he felt to know that everyone from Ann Landers to Paul Harvey wrongly attributed his list to Bill Gates he said, “I don’t get upset because, hey, life isn’t fair, so I’m used to it.”

Sykes says the average teenager uses the phrase “It’s not fair!” 8.6 times a day. The kids got it from their baby-boomer parents who were the most idealistic generation ever. It’s not fair that some people are taller or faster and some can eat gallons of Häagen Daz without gaining a pound.

In Matthew 20, we find the Parable of the Workers.  Often assigned as a Stewardship Parable, we understand that is better attributed as a Salvation Parable.  Workers were called to a job sight at different hours of the day starting early in the morning.  Then more were called mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon and late in the day.  When the owner came to pay them, the one that had worked just one hour received the same pay as the one who had been there all day.  The owner had agreed to the amount with the first one, but when he saw that the late arrivals received the same amount, he cried, unfair.

Matthew  20:13,14 says, “He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go.’”  The thrust of the story reminds us that those who accept Christ late will receive the same salvation as those who receive Him early.  However, the rewards that come will be based on the faithfulness of our lives seen in Matthew 25 in the Parable of the Talents.

There are several important truths that we discover about salvation.  Three things to remember from Matthew 20:

 

1)   God Wants To Release The Temptation To Compare (v. 10).

Immediately they screamed out, "Unfair!" You see they had made a fatal mistake. They were comparing what someone else had gotten with what they got. When you start comparing you start coveting. When you start coveting you start complaining. The danger comes when you take your eyes off of the Lord.

2)   God Wants To Remind Us That He Is Always Fair (v. 13).

              

Saying life isn't fair is not the same as saying God isn't fair, because first of all God doesn't owe us anything. On the contrary, we owe God everything: our time, our talent, our money, even our very lives. The lives we live are lives that God has given to us; even the breath, each breath that we take in at this very moment, the clothes on our backs, the food on our table, our health in its varying degrees, since some of us do have ailing parts but at least we're here; the gifts of mind and body to do the jobs we've been called to do -- all of that is the sheer gift of God. In addition to all this is the amazing grace given to us through Jesus Christ that is beyond all imagination.

3)  God’s Wants To Reward Us Revealing That He Is Always Aware (v. 14).

God doesn't owe us anything. God has every right to require perfect obedience and faithful service from all of us without in the least, obligating Himself to anyone. However, not only does He show us mercy from our sins but also reveals grace through rewarding us. 

Before you compare, remember that God is fair and square.  He is always right in His dealings.  That’s an important thing to remember when life seems unfair.

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)   Name a time when life was not fair.

2)   Thank the Lord that while we deserved the penalty of death, He gave us life and every blessing in between.

 Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser