Wednesday, July 16, 2008

What do you call more than fair?


     Jesus told a story about a owner of a vineyard who went out at 6:00 in the morning to hire day laborers, promising to pay them a day's wages, a sum adequate to support one's family at a subsistence level. At 9:00 he went to the place where day laborers gathered, and when he found that there were others were still needing work, he offered them jobs as well. He did the same at 12:00 noon, at 3:00, and again at 5:00. At 6:00, all the day laborers lined up to be paid, starting with the ones who came to work at 5:00.
   
     When the workers that came at 5:00 were paid a day's wages for one hour of work, everyone was surprised, anticipating that those who worked longer would get paid more. When it became apparent that the owner was paying a day's wages to everyone regardless of the number of hours worked, surprise turned to anger. The workers who had worked  many long hours during the heat of the day complained that what the owner was doing was unfair.

     The owner's reply was straight forward: I paid you what I promised. Beyond that, I have money at my disposal; I chose to give everyone who worked today enough to live; for that, they need a day's wages.

     So this parable is not about how to run a business. It's about helping those in need. He was fair to all; and more than fair to some. There's unfair, fair, and more than fair. We have a word for more than fair. That word is "grace."

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