What is Fair?

If you’ve watched the news lately, you’ve no doubt heard some story or another about conflict and unrest in various parts of the world. The U.S. is certainly no exception as there is no shortage of fights (figuratively and sometimes literally) between people with differing opinions and ideologies. Concepts like equality and equity are often at the heart of many of these conflicts. Most of us believe that in a society like the U.S., everyone should be treated fairly.


The problem is that we can’t always define what we think is fair. It’s fine to say that everyone should get the same pay for the same work, however, in practice, it is rare that everyone with a certain job performs that job exactly the same and with the same quality. Some believe that all children should be given the same opportunities and shots at success. Others would argue that parents who work harder for their children’s benefit should see a result of better opportunities for those children. To them, that’s completely fair.


Fairness is a tricky concept, and given the sinful nature of the world, if such a thing as true fairness actually exists, it’s unlikely we’ll ever find it in this world. Those that believe in Jesus Christ also believe that there is life beyond what we will experience in this world. One day we will get to be with God, and all the ills of this world will be like forgotten memories. Concerns over the concept of fairness will be things of the past because, of course, God is fair. Right?


Well, once more, that all comes down to how you define fairness. As is the case for many matters of morality, our human standards aren’t necessarily in line with God’s. Jesus gave two different parables that touch on this. In both cases, our concept of fairness and God’s concept might not match.


Jesus told his disciples the following in response to a question about what reward they could expect:

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. - Matthew 19:28-30

Jesus used a parable about workers in a vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) to further explain. To summarize, a land owner gathered several groups of workers throughout a day to work at his vineyard for the same set price. Since the owner found the different people at different times in the day, some workers labored longer than others. When it came time to settle for the day, the owner paid the workers in order of who came the latest, and all were paid the same. As expected, the workers who labored longer thought what happened was unfair. They believed that since they did more work, they deserved more pay. The owner responded as follows:

“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ - Matthew 20:13-14

The parable shows that there is fairness and equity in how Jesus will reward our faith in Him. It doesn’t matter if you were saved when you were a teenager and someone else was saved a week before their death. We’re not being treated unfairly because God set that reward from the start and the Bible makes the details clear to us all. When we decide to follow Jesus, we agree to the terms of living that life, and the only things that should concern us are our own obligations toward our relationship with God.

The story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is, perhaps, a more well known example. In that story, a man has two sons. One son is diligent and does what he’s supposed to do. The other son takes his inheritance and blows it, living a hedonistic lifestyle. When the more reckless son comes to his senses and humbles himself, he returns to his father hoping that his father can spare something for him. He is surprised when his father rejoices greatly in response to his return. The diligent son believes the father’s reaction towards and treatment of the reckless son is unfair. The diligent son is upset that the father did not show as much happiness with his diligence as the father did with the wayward son’s return. To him that was unfair, but the father gave him the following response:

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” - Luke 15:31-32

Was the father’s treatment of his sons fair? Maybe. Maybe not. Some might say that the diligent son deserved to be treated better because he behaved better.  Others might point out that all the wayward son wanted was to return to the fold, the place where the good son had been all along.  

In the end, it’s all a matter of perspective, but Jesus used this parable to show us that sometimes fairness is beside the point. As Christians, our concern shouldn’t always be about how we are treated, what we receive, or how we benefit. We should be striving to be more like Christ. Jesus died so that we could rise above sin and live. He did nothing wrong. He did not deserve that treatment. His fate on Earth was unfair, but he accepted it nonetheless because his love for us was more important than fairness. If Jesus could do that for us, we should have no problem doing what he asks of us. Maybe that means that parts of our experiences on Earth will be unfair when compared to those of others around us. That doesn’t matter. If we’ve believe in Jesus and his work for us on the Cross and his resurrection we will have eternal life. As a result of our faith, we’ll come out better than we should when it’s time to settle up with the Father.

Chris Lawyer

Image Courtesy of pittard.com