Is God being unfair (II)?

Three years ago, September 18, it was also the 25^th Ordinary Sunday, Year A. I wrote a blog entitled "Is God being unfair?" Today, I thank God for allowing me to write again on the same topic. So, I entitled it "Is God being unfair (II)?" and renamed the previous one "Is God being unfair (I)?".

It is a grace of God that I can continue to reason and write because no matter how talented one is (I am not), one's health can only go in one direction. When I was younger, I was aggressive. I wanted to win. I wanted to get things done brilliantly. At this moment, I have lost that kind of passion. It no longer matters whether I win or not win. I am entering the rank of senior citizens.

In the parable, God seems to be guilty of creating in the first batch of workers a reasonable expectation which turned out to be unreasonable. I would defend God, arguing that this expectation came from a shaky moral principle. From another perspective, God wants to cure them of a utilitarian mentality which is very prevalent nowadays in Hong Kong --- people deserve to be rewarded more when they work more. Many Hong Kong citizens condemn newly arrived Chinese immigrants for collecting Comprehensive Social Security Allowance. They argue that these immigrants have not contributed to the economy of Hong Kong. Therefore, these immigrants do not deserve the benefits. Moreover, they will drain away our precious resources etc. Unfortunately, many people buy this idea because they see their "benefits" being rubbed. They see the immigrants as rivals rather than family members. Aren't we all Chinese? No. mainlanders are Communists! My overseas readers will be amazed by the in-fighting among us Chinese. No wonder Chinese have been colonized for more than two hundred years.

To illustrate the teaching of the poverty beatitude (Matthew 5:3), Jesus teaches us to pray to the Heavenly Father for our daily bread (6:11). Yes, daily. We trust that God will provide. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow (6:34). There is no need to ask for a week's bread or a month's in advance. They will not be fresh anymore! In Jesus' time, a denarius is the wage of a day's labour, enough to feed a family. When the first batch of workers grumbled and wanted more, perhaps they wanted to save an extra denarius for tomorrow. That seems reasonable for most Hong Kong people. But perhaps they did not want to work the next day. Or they wanted a more secured retirement etc. In short, they felt insecure. They did not have faith in the owner, in God. In such case, nothing in the world would ever make them feel safe. God's providence is enough or rather more than enough to meet our needs because God is generous.

Some people were born lucky. They were talented and raised in well-off families with lucrative networks in the society. These people became successful early in their lives. People they met were less competent and less successful. Some might even losers throughout their lives. I am not suggesting categorizing people into different classes. Nor do I want to put the blame on the society for crimes people commit. Everybody is an image of God and like God we are free agents. We are free to make choices and we have to bear the consequences of our choices. This is our responsibility.

Since we live in a society, we expect fairness. We want a fair share of resources and opportunities. We don't want to be deprived of what is due us. Here lies the gap between God and men. God's righteousness is not man's justice. Righteousness for God is His salvation (various passages from Psalms and Isaiah). If God does not save us, it is for Him unrighteousness. For men, we want a fair share of rewards. So, God and man are speaking different languages here. So, when God calls us "friend" (Matthew 20:13), does God mean "friend" as we mean? Among the people called "friend" by God in Matthew, we have this unreasonable worker, an improperly prepared guest at the King's banquet (22:12) and lastly Judas (26:50).
What can we say? I am sure God wants to befriend us and to love us. Somehow, some people are more attracted by Him, some not. Some answer God's call early in their lives, some as late as at their last hour. This parable tells us not to be jealous of Jesus' generosity to one of the thieves who confessed Jesus' kingship while the other one cursed Jesus (Luke 23:39-43). The thief who cursed Jesus perhaps was harbouring an unreasonable expectation on Jesus like the first batch of workers. Therefore, the moral of this parable perhaps is to warn us of unreasonable expectations on God's reward. Trust Jesus. God will provide.

Dear Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom. Amen.