September 18, 2005

"Life Isn't Fair"

A certain man died and when he reached the Pearly Gates of Heaven, St. Peter informed him that there was an admissions test to get in the gates. The passing score was 100 points. “So, what are your qualifications to enter the kingdom of heaven?”

With confidence the man replied, “I went to church every Sunday, I gave 10 percent of my income to the church and I was a member of session for 50 years.” “That’s just fine,” St. Peter said. “That’ll get you one point.” Startled, the man continued with “I donated a kidney to my brother, I organized the local blood drive and packed clothes for the needy at Christmas.” Excellent, Peter said, that’ll get you another point. Now the man was truly anxious. He cried out, “I shoveled my neighbor’s walks every winter, I gave to the United Way and every Saturday I read to the blind.” “Wonderful,” Peter said. “That brings your score to three points. What else?”

“I have nothing else,” the miserable man said sobbing as he fell to his knees. “I have nothing to rely on except the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.” In tenderness Peter reached down and lifted the man to his feet. “Congratulations. Your score is exactly 100 points. Welcome home, my brother.” In the end we have nothing to rely on but the mercy of God. Not his fairness. His mercy. For God is not fair. But he is generous.

I love that story I just told, partly because it’s Peter himself, the one we picture at the gates of heaven, who sets up today’s gospel story with a question that we would find perfectly understandable: “Lord, we gave up everything to follow you. We gave up our families, our jobs, everything about our past lives. We walk around in rags, we’re always on the brink of starvation, we have to beg for what we do have. So I’d like to know, Lord—what’s in it for me?” Clearly, fairness is on Peter’s mind—or should I say, unfairness. If he’s looking for fairness from Jesus, however, he’s come to the wrong place.

Years ago there was a golf tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee that had a fascinating ending. It was a hole-in-one tournament. The rules said that whoever came closest to getting a hole-in-one on the 90-yard hole was the winner. You didn't have to actually make a hole-in-one to win. Just come closest.
    One man hit a terrible shot. It was so bad that it ricocheted off the scorer's tent, then miraculously bounced onto the fairway, where it hit another golfer's ball, and ricocheted again, finally coming to rest one inch from the cup. Another golfer, meanwhile, hit a beautiful shot that headed for the cup on the fly, bounced backward off the pin and stopped six inches from the cup. So who was the winner--the golfer who made that beautiful straight-on shot or the one who was so bad that he ricocheted his shot off the scorer's tent?   

Have you ever heard the expression, I'd rather be lucky than good? The man who ricocheted his shot off the tent, then ricocheted his ball off another golfer's ball, walked away with the prize while the man who hit the beautiful, straight shot got nothing. It was the rule. The golfer closest to the cup was declared the winner.

Is there anyone here who believes that life is fair? A certain young man recalls that his dad had a favorite saying for people who just lucked into good things without any effort on their part. He'd say, "The dumber the farmer, the bigger the spuds." Friends, life may be many things, but fair is not one of them.

I’ve had all summer now to stew and fret about my health condition, and I want to assure you, there have been many times when I have given in to the temptation to say, “This is not fair!” Does anybody know what big concert is happening in Pittsburgh on Sept. 28? That’s right, the Rolling Stones are playing. I’ve seen pictures of the Rolling Stones the way they appear today, and honestly, they look like walking cadavers. They’re all in their 60s and somehow they can still drag their bones on stage and do their schtick. One in particular, Keith Richards, brags about the drugs he’s taken and the number of sex partners he’s had.

Me, I’ve followed all the rules, worked hard, ate right, swore off booze years ago, never smoked, and here I am in need of a new heart. Most people would probably say I’m within my rights to holler at God and say, “Hey! This isn’t fair!” But God never lets me get away with feeling sorry for myself, I’ve discovered. In fact, he likes to whack me upside the head and say, “John Jennings, get a grip. I’ve blessed you abundantly from the day you were born. My ways are not your ways. You can’t understand my ways, so just trust me and put yourself fully in my hands.”

Most people are willing to do just that—trust God with running their lives—but only to a point. When things get rough, they let their envy of others get in the way of that trust. They start to make judgment calls on who deserves what from God. That attitude is reflected in today’s gospel story, which never fails to upset our sense of what’s fair and just.

As we look at this parable one thing really seems to bother us; the treatment of the workers. It all seems so unfair. We have these men that worked all day in the hot sun only to receive the exact same pay as the workers that only worked one hour. It just seems like something is not right here. I think what really bothers us is not the treatment of these workers, but our potential treatment by God, because we realize that this is a parable about the way God calls us by his grace.

In our minds we feel we are the ones who worked in God’s vineyard all day. We ask ourselves the question, "Is this fair?" Are we hard-working Christians going to be treated like these workers? Is the sinner who converts on his death bed going to get the same reward that we are? Will Charles Manson get the same benefits we do? Surely we must warrant a higher ranking in heaven? Maybe on a cloud with Paul or Moses. Surely we life-long Christians deserve more. This is the very argument of the workers in the vineyard.

Three thoughts I would leave you with to try to refute this attitude:

1--A generous God has chosen to shower his grace upon you. Appreciate it.

 God has chosen to give you his grace not because you deserve it, but because of his compassion. He was not obligated. He was not forced into it. He did it out of love, because he saw that you needed it. In the Kingdom of God, what we have done, or maybe what we think we’ve done, will not matter. Nothing about us qualifies us for God’s grace. It’s a free gift from a generous God. Jesus told us, “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.” I think that when we get to heaven and look around at who else has made the cut, we may be surprised at the faces we see and don’t see. Perhaps then we’ll understand that we don’t deserve to be there, either, but it was God’s grace that pulled us through.

2—God’s grace is a free gift—receive it.

Did you ever give someone a gift and they kind of turned up their nose at it? Oh, I’m not saying they threw it in the trash in front of you, but they made you feel like they wish someone with more taste or more money had gifted them instead? How did that make you feel? Did you want to run right out and buy them something else? More likely you wanted to feed them a nice big dinner of rat poison. How do you think our attitude makes God feel? Remember the words of the vineyard owner—“Are you envious because I am generous with my money? Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?”

3--God’s grace affirms your life’s worth. Live it.

One of the problems with modern life is that all value is measured in dollar bills. You see that with baseball players who want to be paid one dollar more than the next guy, to prove that he’s the most valuable ball player. You see that in people who have to have the biggest house or the biggest car, and you certainly see it in the work place, where, unless you’re a union worker with a contract, people want to be affirmed with a bigger paycheck than the next guy. But true satisfaction is not based on what we have or don’t have. True joy is found in who we have—we have a savior who saved us and a Father who loves us.

In the end, when we stand before the Father there won’t be any distinction between rich and poor, male or female, white, black or brown. No one is worthier than another to receive salvation because we’re all unworthy—not worthless, unworthy. It’s all level ground at the foot of the cross.

There have always been performance-based Christians, ever since Peter approached Jesus and said “Lord, what’s in it for me?” Performance-based Christians are okay with others receiving blessings from God, as long as they themselves are given a bonus based on performance. But the fact is, there’s nothing you can do to make God love you more, and nothing you can do to make God love you less. God dispenses gifts, not wages. Romans 6 spells out what we will receive if we want to be paid for our life: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

    A preacher told of a conversation with a mother who understood some of the generosity that is reflected in today’s parable. 

   She had raised a large number of children on her own.  How did she do that?  Were there any guidelines she could offer?  She was asked, “I suppose you loved all your children fairly, making sure that you gave all of them exactly the same treatment?”  the wise mother replied, “I loved all of them, loved them greatly, but I never wanted to love them fairly.  I loved the one that was down until he got up.  I loved the one who was weak until she was strong.  I loved the one that was hurt until he was healed.  I loved the one who was lost until she was found.”

            I am convinced that this is how God’s love and grace work for us.  If you are down, God will love you until you get up.   If you are weak, God will love you until you are strong.  If you hurt, God will love you until you are healed.  If you are lost, God will love you until you are found.  For you see, God is not fair…God is generous.  That is God’s way.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, may it be ours as well.