Matthew 20:1-15, “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?”
“π’π¨π₯ π¨π‘ππππ₯ ππ’π” (Pastor Jack Hyles)
Dr. Hyles used the same passage of Scripture that I just quoted to you from Matthew 20:1-15. The men who had worked hard for 11 hours, thought it was UNFAIR when the householder in charge paid the men the same wages who only worked for the last one hour. I can completely understand why they were upset. I'd be upset too! But the Scripture teaches that since it was the householder's land and operation, he had the right to pay whomever he chose, whatever amount he wanted, if they agreed to it. The men who had worked for 11 hours agreed to a certain wage for their time and labor. I love this Scripture passage because it teaches a very important principle—that when we oftentimes think something is totally unfair, is in fact fair.
Jesus said that this parable illustrates Heaven. It doesn't seem fair that a man who gets saved much later in life, and lives like the Devil as a child of God; should be given the same gift of eternal life as a man who gets saved at a young age, and then faithfully serves God his entire life. But we who have been born again by faith alone in Jesus alone, are all saved BY GRACE!
We have all felt at times that God hasn't been fair with us; that we got a raw deal. I've often felt that way. Dr. Hyles said that he felt that way at times. As humans we all tend to feel wronged by God sometimes. But we all receive THE SAME GRACE! Let us all say: “AMAZING GRACE, HOW SWEET THE SOUND, THAT SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME!”
I'm sure that Jacob in the Old Testament thought it was unfair when his beloved wife Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin. God could have spared her life for Jacob's joy and pleasure, but God allowed his beloved Rachel to perish.
It doesn't seem fair that Lazarus was eating from the rich man's garbage in Luke 16:19-31.
It doesn't seem fair that Moses wasn't permitted by God to enter into the Promised Land, after all the suffering and hard work that he endured to lead the Hebrews for 40 years in the Wilderness. It seems like God was too harsh on Moses, chastising him for striking the rock twice in anger. God told him to smite the rock once, so that water would come forth from it.
I have always thought it was unfair that God killed Uzzah, who steadied the Ark of the Covenant. Uzzah saw it wobbling and reached out his hand to secure the Ark so it wouldn't topple over. God killed him instantly. The lesson is clear—don't mess with God's Word! But was it really necessary to kill the man, depriving him of his entire life?
I could go through the Bible and give you hundreds of similar situations that seem unfair. But dear reader, God is always fair. At some point in everyone's life, we will either place God on trial in our own mind, or else we will just have to blindly trust God's goodness and righteousness. God is incapable of being tempted with or doing evil (James 1:13-14).
Just settle it once and for all that GOD IS GOOD! Did it ever occur to you, that nothing ever occurs to God? God is omniscient (He knows everything). Don't you think God who knows everything does know what you needs? God is omnibenevolent (He is all-loving). Do you think that God who is all-loving doesn't know your need for a wife or husband to love and be loved? We would be wise not to accuse God of being unfair. Don't you think that God knows what is best for you? “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22b). God is holy! God knows what you need (Matthew 6:6-8).
Just settle it once and for all that GOD IS GOOD! Did it ever occur to you, that nothing ever occurs to God? God is omniscient (He knows everything). Don't you think God who knows everything does know what you needs? God is omnibenevolent (He is all-loving). Do you think that God who is all-loving doesn't know your need for a wife or husband to love and be loved? We would be wise not to accuse God of being unfair. Don't you think that God knows what is best for you? “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22b). God is holy! God knows what you need (Matthew 6:6-8).
God is omnipotent (He is all-powerful). If God wanted, He could do anything. Trust Him that the Lord knows what is best for you! God is righteous and just, He is fair. There are some things in life that I have missed, that I would have really liked to have. If I were God, I would have let me have those things. My former wife abandoned and divorced me 19 years ago. I didn't want the divorce in 2006. I have tried since umpteen times to repair my marriage, but my x-wife refuses to reconcile, which is also written in the official divorce document. If I were God, I would have given me a different wife who is loyal and submissive, but the Lord hasn't answered my prayers. I have struggled with loneliness and depression for the past 19 years.
If I were God, I would make sure that every Christian man has a good wife. I would make sure that no righteous man was ever alone without a loving gal by his side, to be his help meet, and be his cheerleader, and be his nurse when he's is sick, and his best buddy. It saddens me to be alone, and to see other Christian men alone. Feminism has ruined women by indoctrinating them to be empowered and rebel against their husbands. The U.S. government has ruined marriage by allowing the sin of divorce. These are perilous times (2nd Timothy 2:1-7).
I have often in my soul said that life is not fair, but I know better than accuse God of being unfair. The Bible teaches that God is holy (1st Peter 1:15-16). God cares about me (1st Peter 5:7-8). God is faithful. God is faithful. 1st Corinthians 1:9, “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” Who am I to accuse God of being unfair? Lazarus in the Bible was a righteous man, yet he was eating out of the garbage of a rich man. If I were God, I would have given Lazarus a Smorgasbord of fine dining at a clean well-prepared table. But no, Lazarus was dining from a trash can. But God is good. Oh yes He is.
I was watching a video documentary about the homeless problem in Los Angeles. There are now 70,000 homeless people just in Los Angeles. One man in particular made an impression upon me a couple years ago. In the video the man was searching for food in a dumpster. The other man who was interviewing him, asked him how he felt about having to eat from a dirty dumpster. That poor and homeless man quoted the Holy Bible from Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” I was amazed and humbled by what that homeless man has said. I was astonished that instead of being bitter and blaming God for his situation, he praised and thanked God for the food out of a dirty dumpster. Wow! When I saw that, I decided to never forget that poor man's godly Christian spirit. I want to be like that humble man! I certainly don't want to ever have to eat food from a dumpster (There but for the grace of God, go I), but if I do, I will praise and thank God for supplying my needs.
God will be our eternal Judge. Psalms:50:6, “And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.” Life is often unfair, but God is fair! Dear reader, Romans 5:12 teaches that we live in a fallen world because of sin. When Adam sinned, he opened the floodgate of sin and death upon the world. Every human being that has been born since, was born with a sinful nature. We are all sinners by birth and by choice.
Sometimes we suffer because of our own sins. Sometimes we suffer because of the sins of others. The reason why 12,000 homes burned to the ground in California, and so far 24 people are dead (in January of 2025), is because the government failed to prepare. It has been in the news that the governor of California rejected a proposal to use the billions of gallons of run-off rain water for the people. The governor wanted to help the Smelt fish! I agree with President Trump that the governor of California is totally to blame! It is common knowledge in California that their state is prone to fires. Then the mayor of Los Angeles took away $17,000,000 of resources from the fire department. The people of Los Angeles are suffering because of incompetent leadership!
This whole ordeal with the recent forest fires in Los Angeles, compel me to apply the situation to the Gospel. Life is short, Hell is hot and eternity is a long time! The vast majority of humanity are ignoring the reality of death. They are not prepared to meet God. They have never been born again (John 3:1-7). The only way to escape the raging fires of Hell is to be born again by faith alone in the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on a cross to pay for your sins and mine. He was buried. Three days later Jesus bodily resurrected from the dead. Jesus ascended into Heaven and is alive for evermore. Anyone who comes to God by faith as a hell-deserving needy sinner, and receives Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for their sins, believing that Jesus was buried, but then raised up from the dead the third day, is instantly and forever born again.
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