Deputy Principal Message
James Roberts
Fairness vs Generosity
A while ago I read an article by Gregory Pierce that focused on Matthew’s Gospel of the workers in the vineyard. In the parable, the owner of the vineyard pays each of the workers the same agreed wage at the end of the day regardless of what time they had started work. The workers who were hired early in the day were unhappy that those who had been hired later in the day were paid the same wage – despite all agreeing to that wage. The owner asked “Are you envious because I am generous?” The owner was free to be generous with his money having established a just wage for all of them, however, some of the workers did not see it as being all that fair.
So what would you prefer, someone who is fair or someone who is generous? With fairness you would get exactly the same amount of everything and get treated exactly the same as everyone else. This however, comes at a cost as it implies a minimalist approach, so despite going above and beyond and doing your best you would get the same as someone who only fulfilled the minimum expectations. Generosity on the other hand allows for extravagance, fun and excitement and is therefore considered more interesting, this would allow for incentives and rewards to be given as the owner/giver sees fit. Imagine showing up to work or school with the real possibility of being paid more or receiving a higher grade than expected. Fairness on the other hand is more predictable and subject to a lot of boring record-keeping.
Consider a world where fairness was assumed and generosity was the goal. Where people negotiating would not attempt to get the best deal for themselves but rather work together to get the best possible deal for ALL involved. Students working together and sharing their knowledge and understanding so that everyone can get that ‘A’ grade. Alternatively, employers and employees working together to get the best possible wage deal for everyone.
While many people would argue that is not the way things work in the world, the parable of the workers in the vineyard tells us that, this is what God is asking us to do – to choose generosity over fairness, where the last will be first and the first will be last. Most of us lean towards fairness as we think that is best we can do, without giving generosity a chance.
The message for me then from the parable is that if we believe God equally loves us all then we must believe He will always be generous towards us. That we should not waste our time concerning ourselves with what is fair and what isn’t (God will sort that out) and we should be thankful for the (generous) blessings that come our way each and every day. Additionally, we are being asked to reflect God’s love with all who we meet by being generous to all.
Kind Regards
James Roberts
Deputy Principal
