God's Grace Isn't Fair, and That's a Good Thing

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? “Come on, David. That’s not fair.” But flip back a page in your Bible and notice how that plunder was described in verse 20: “This is David’s plunder.” Before that in verses 18 and 19: “David recovered everything…” “David brought everything back...”

David isn’t stealing from his hardworking men. It’s his plunder. He can do with it as he please, and he graciously offers to share it equally with all of his men. Not just the ones who followed him into battle.

Maybe David was just feeling extra generous that day? Let’s take a look at one of Jesus’ parables:

When we read this, it seems like our knee-jerk reaction is to be indignant. The workers who were only there an hour or so got the same payment as the ones who worked all day in the heat? That’s not fair, right? Let’s take a look at where we fall in these stories.

Photo credit: Pexels/Tim Mossholder

Jesus is painting a wonderful picture of God’s grace here, but instead of enjoying the beauty of this freely given gift, we, like the morning workers, feel unsatisfied. We may even feel ripped off. “What, is that it?”

Why do we feel this way? Because we are putting ourselves in the shoes of the hardest workers. We see ourselves as the soldiers on the front lines with David, and we see ourselves as the workers who rose before dawn and worked until their fingers were raw. But, no matter how hard we work here on earth – whether in our jobs, our families or our ministries – that’s not who we are. And it’s not, I think, where Jesus intends for us to place ourselves in this story.

How much better do these two stories feel if you put yourself in the shoes of the others? How blessed, relieved, and joyfully unworthy would you feel if you were the solider who stayed behind, but still was given equal reward? How unmeasurably thankful if you were the worker who waited around all day, only to work for just a bit – but was given a wage vastly more than you were expecting?

That is what God’s grace looks like to us. We can’t earn our way into Heaven, no matter how hard we try. One slip up, one sinful thought or voice raised in anger, and you’re disqualified. God knows this about us, but He still graciously offers us the credit that His Son bought. Jesus did all the work, not us. But still our sins are forgiven, through nothing that we could have done.

Going back to my original example of a group project in school, it’s like you were the kid who never showed up to class, never even knew there was a project, and did zero work towards it. But still you were given an A+ and a scholarship to the best college in the country.

And that comparison falls so woefully short of the reward we are given in Christ. The two stories above are meant to help us glimpse all that God has done for us; but the gift of eternal life is more than David could ever give his men, and more than any boss could ever give to her workers. When you think of that heavenly reward, that path away from death, there is no space in our hearts and minds for dissatisfaction. We could never feel ripped off by what God has offered, because what could possibly be greater? What in all of human history was bought with a higher price?

God’s grace is not fair. And that is of the upmost importance to us.

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Bethany Pyle is the editor for Bible Study Tools.com and the design editor for Crosscards.com. She has a background in journalism and a degree in English from Christopher Newport University. When not editing for Salem, she enjoys good fiction and better coffee.