Grace, Not Fairness

By Pastor Sunny

Through my tears, I cried out, “It’s not fair!”

In Korea, the Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year, and the celebrations can last for a week. At the center of the celebration is Sebae, a tradition in which children bow to their elders and wish them a year filled with blessings. Children love Sebae because each elder gives them Sebaetdon—pocket money accompanied by words of wisdom and blessings.

One year, I joined my cousins at my uncle’s house as we went from room to room, bowing to our elders. We were excited about our growing collection of Sebaetdon. On this particular day, there were several uncles and aunts, which meant we performed Sebae several times—and got paid several times. We were giddy, already talking about what kind of candy we would buy.

Then we saw my older brother and cousins, who were in middle school, coming out of the room. Because they were older, they had received more money. I was furious.

“It’s not fair!” I argued with my mother through my tears. “Why should they get more money just because they were older?” I complained that every child should receive the same amount. I felt cheated.

In Matthew 20, Jesus tells a parable about workers who worked different numbers of hours but received the same wage. Those who were hired early in the morning initially celebrated their good fortune. They had an opportunity to work all day and earn a full day’s wage.

But their joy disappeared when they saw that those who had been hired later in the day received the same amount. They complained to the landowner, believing they deserved more because they had worked longer.

But notice what they were actually complaining about. The landowner had not cheated them. He had paid them exactly what he had promised. Their anger came because someone else had received generosity.

They were not angry because they had been treated unfairly. They were angry because someone else had been treated generously.

That is what makes Jesus’ parable so challenging.

God’s grace is not a reward that we earn by comparing our worth with someone else’s. God’s generosity is not limited by what we think others deserve. The grace of God is freely given, and extended even to those who arrive later, have less, or seem to have done less.

The kindom of God is not built on our calculations of who deserves more. It is shaped by God’s generosity, where there is enough grace to go around.

When we returned home from the New Year’s celebrations, my older brother brought me some of the candy he had bought. He also shared some of the money he had received.

He knew he had received generously, so he shared generously with me.

When we recognize how generously God has blessed us, we do not have to worry about whether someone else has received more. We can celebrate their blessing and share generously what we have received.

May we learn to live by the generosity of God rather than by worldly calculations of what is fair.

May God’s grace make us generous people.

Pastor Sunny