The key to understanding the story about the landowner who pays workers hired last the same amount as those hired first turns on a difference between fairness on human terms and fairness on God’s terms. Jesus tells this story to show that we judge things at times based on appearance, whereas God looks at one’s heart before he renders judgement (1 Sam 16:7). In short, we judge quantity, whereas God judges quality.
The story illustrates this point by showing how jealousy begins with a comparison. The workers hired first in the day compare their pay with that of the workers hired last in the day. That comparison led to a feeling of jealousy, anger and resentment. They concluded that they were on the short end of the stick and didn’t get what they deserved compared to what the other workers received. They harbored ill will towards the other workers because they wanted to be paid based on the quantity of their work.
Notice that the workers hired first are satisfied with their pay so long as they are unaware that the workers hired last will receive the same pay. They accept the offer of the usual daily wage with no complaint. Later, however, when they discover that the workers hired last receive the same pay for doing less work in better conditions, they feel cheated. They become jealous and angry only because they are comparing quantity of work.
Their response is entirely understandable. Who wouldn’t be bothered by the obvious injustice? Fairness in human terms demands less pay for the five o’clock crowd because they not only did less work, they did it in better conditions. This inequality in quantity of work compels the ones hired first to express their concern to their employer. Rather than take the bait, however, the employer rebukes them for their discontent and refuses them additional pay. He makes no apologies for his generosity and offers no justification for his actions, except to claim that he can do with his money as he sees fit. The parable ends on that rather harsh note, but the lesson is clear.
Comparisons often lead to jealousy, and jealousy rarely brings about anything good, even when it stops short of anger. Even so, as a practical matter, it is not likely that we can or will stop making comparisons. We learn to do this at an early age. How often did we hear phrases such as, why can’t you dress in pretty clothes like your sister, or why can’t you be nice like your brother, or why can’t you make better grades like so and so? Such comments can motivate better behavior, but often they have the opposite effect. They breed jealousy, anger, and resentment.
The employer’s rebuke of the disgruntled workers in the parable suggests a different approach. The rebuke underscores the idea that comparison is an approach best to avoid because it can lead to jealousy and anger. We are then left with little room in our hearts for love of neighbor. The rebuke also reveals a difference between fairness on human terms and fairness on God’s terms. This is the hard lesson in the first reading from Isaiah: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.” God simply doesn’t see fairness the way we do. We tend to judge fairness in terms of quantity and merit. We get what we deserve, and we deserve only what we have earned.
This approach to fairness is counter to the point that Jesus makes when he says that the kingdom of God is not a matter of doing more than others. Rather, it is a matter of getting behind others. He tells his disciples in plain language, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all” (Mk 9:35). Not first in line, but first in service. This is fairness on God’s terms.
In fact, the common factor among all the workers in the parable—from the first hired to the last—is faithful service. Each is a faithful servant who receives a reward that corresponds to the work performed as agreed. The workers hired first answered the call to serve as each understood that call, and each accepted the agreed upon payment offered in the circumstances.
The workers hired last in the day did exactly the same thing. They performed their service as they understood the call, with the same level of faithfulness, and they receive the agreed upon payment for that work. As a result, no one got cheated. All receive the pay they were promised for the work they agreed to do. They were all faithful servants, and their employer rewarded their faithfulness in the same way, just as he had promised.
We might describe our participation in the kingdom of God in similar terms. Our participation in the kingdom stems from, and is a measure of, our response to God’s call to loving service as each of us understands and answers that call in our daily lives. In that sense, our participation in the kingdom does not depend on how others respond to that same calling. That is their business; not ours. A genuine response means that we look at things with the eyes of love. With the eyes of love, we do not see a reason to be jealous of the amount of good work and achievements of our neighbor. Rather, we see and celebrate their successes.
At the same time, we can be grateful for our own gifts and use them in loving service to others. Faithful service that comes from a loving heart is all that God expects from each of us, and all that determines our reward. St. Mother Theresa said it best during her 1979 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech when she said that “God does not measure us by the size of our actions, but by the amount of love we put into them.” With that attitude, we can be sure that, when the time comes for settling up, we won’t be surprised, nor will we be annoyed, to see that the last is first and the first is last.
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