By Pastor Johnie Akers
In Matthew 20, Jesus tells the parable of a householder who hires laborers for his vineyard throughout the day—some early in the morning, others at the eleventh hour. When evening comes, every worker receives the same wage. Those who labored all day murmur, feeling wronged. It doesn’t seem fair.
And they are right—grace is not fair.
Fairness would demand that each man be paid according to his effort, his endurance, his hours under the heat of the sun. Fairness calculates, measures, and distributes accordingly. But grace operates by an entirely different standard. Grace gives not based on merit, but on the goodness of the giver.
The householder’s response cuts straight to the heart: “Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” (v. 15). The issue was not injustice—it was generosity. The early laborers received exactly what was promised. Yet they were offended that others received the same without bearing the same burden.
This parable reveals something deeply uncomfortable about the human heart—we prefer fairness when it benefits us, but we depend on grace when it exposes us. If God dealt with us fairly, none would stand. Scripture reminds us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” If wages were strictly earned, our reward would be judgment, not blessing.
But grace steps in.
Grace does not ask how long you’ve labored, how much you’ve achieved, or how worthy you appear. Grace simply gives. The thief on the cross received the same eternal life as the apostle who had followed Christ for years. The latecomer is welcomed just as fully as the lifelong servant.
This does not diminish faithfulness—it magnifies mercy.
When we understand grace, comparison loses its grip. There is no room for envy in a vineyard where every blessing is undeserved. Instead of asking, “Why do they get the same?” we begin to marvel, “Why do I get anything at all?”
The beauty of the gospel is this: God does not pay us what we deserve—He gives us what Christ has earned. Salvation is not a wage; it is a gift.
So yes, grace is not fair. It is far better than fair.
And in the end, every recipient of grace will stand in awe, not of what they received, but of the One who gave it so freely.
To establish the people of Central Appalachia in the principles of the Kingdom of God, and thereby releasing them to rise above all cultural, historical, economic, and generational limitations so they may live abundantly within their privileges and covenant as sons and daughters of God.