An Unfair God

Jesus' parable of the Labourers, a story that gets at the unfairness of God.
View full video at http://vimeo.com/22295351
or http://www.blip.tv/file/3672088

Pastor John Vansloten's blog
http://www.newhopechurch.ca/jvsblog/

Pastor John's first book
http://metallicaatchurch.org/

A Story about Workers
God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. "Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went.
He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?
They said, 'Because no one hired us.
He told them to go to work in his vineyard.
When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, 'Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.
Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, 'These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.
He replied to the one speaking for the rest, Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?
Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.
Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew 20:1-16, MSG
(images by Rembrandt Van Rijn)

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[queriaoutronick]

he nerver get the point why he is not direct...

[julzabro]

Even as an atheist, I enjoyed this sermon. I think the first being last theme we find throughout the Bible (i.e. the Prodigal Son) is meant to be a message about God's mercy and forgiveness to ALL. It implies that works alone do NOT override faith....i.e. the Gentiles ALSO receive redemption. The contradiction here, however, is that non believers (or u could call us...those who don't work) do NOT get to be first but r punished forever in Hell. This destroys the mercy and forgiveness of God.