Is God Unfair Toward Us?

In the two parables the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–37) and the laborers (Matthew 20:1–16), we run across some poor examples of Christian love and forgiveness. They are the prodigal son’s older brother and the disgruntled workers. The men in these parables thought they were treated unfairly by the father or the master of the house, respectively. This parallels the same silent accusations we hurl at God in our moments of self-centeredness.

The Prodigal Son’s Older Brother

The prodigal son is one of the most-loved and well-known parables told by Jesus. As sinners saved through Christ’s redeeming work and solely by the grace of God, we can readily identify with the prodigal son. In our lives before God saved us, we wanted nothing to do with our heavenly Father. We were only concerned with our own pleasure. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4–5). However, as much as we don’t like to think of it, we are often more like the prodigal son’s older brother: bitter, resentful, and—hopefully unwittingly—accusing God of unfairness.

When we carefully examine the parable, we can pick out several motives for the older brother’s accusations. We can also see the same sins we harbor reflected in what he says.

The Older Brother’s Reasons for Accusing His Father

Jealousy: The older brother bemoans the fact that while his younger brother has been out living riotously, he has been diligently working. But what is the real reason behind his anger? Is it not jealousy? He wanted to have parties thrown for him and his friends. Although he put up a front of being the responsible brother, deep down he craved many of the same things he angrily accused his brother of (Luke 15:28–29).

Self-righteous attitude: The older brother automatically assumes the worst of his younger brother.1 Without knowledge of the facts, he accuses him of spending his money on prostitutes. Although Luke 15:13 mentions “reckless living” there is no mention of visiting prostitutes (Luke 15:28–30).

Believing his father is showing partiality: The older brother boldly states that he has never received such preferential treatment as his younger brother has from the hand of his father. This is actually calling into question his father’s motives and impartiality (Luke 15:29–30).

Desiring the pleasures of this world more than the things of God: The older brother, while outwardly serving his father diligently, did so out of duty, yet inwardly harbored desires for the pleasures of the world (Luke 15:29).

Lack of love and concern for fellow Christians: The older brother did not care that his brother had been found—he would have preferred him to continue to be lost. What a horrible thing to contemplate, that we would be so self-absorbed that we would wish harm or even death on our brother for our own gain (Luke 15:30–32).

Sinful pride in our service to God: Do we not all act like the older brother at times? He served his father, but only because of what he could get out of it. He resented his temperate lifestyle but was very “concerned” with the loss of his father’s money—money that was not his to begin with; it had been given by the father to the younger son. This response was an attitude of the heart that said, “God, I’m tired of serving you and getting nothing out of it yet” (Luke 15:29).

It is possible to see the beginning of this type of thought process in a Psalm of Asaph: “All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning (Psalm 73:13–14). But Asaph doesn’t continue in self-pity; instead, he takes his eyes off others and off himself and looks toward God, at the same time understanding how wrong his attitude toward God was.

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.
Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. (Psalm 73:21–28)

By the end of the parable of the prodigal son, the older brother had not yet come to this realization. But as Christians who now have the full revelation of Scripture, we ought to recognize that giving all of ourselves to God is only our reasonable service (Romans 12:1, NKJV) and that our lives are not our own (Galatians 2:20). The older brother had received numerous blessings and was promised the fortunes of his father in the future (Luke 15:30) but disregarded these things because his mind was fixed on immediate pleasure and his father’s perceived slight in that regard, the very same mindset he complained about in his younger brother.

The Resentful Workers of Matthew 20

Although not as familiar as the parable of the prodigal son, the parable of the “disgruntled” workers carries many of the same themes as those of the prodigal’s older brother. This parable however, might hit home harder for those who have been Christians for a long time.

The Worker’s Reasons for Accusing the Master of the House of Unfairness

Jealousy: The complaining workers were jealous. They begrudged the landowner acting generously to others because they (wrongly) believed it was at their expense (Matthew 20:15).

Belief that the landowner was showing partiality: The workers who had worked all day accused the landowner of unfairness. They had looked at the other workers who had worked less time and assumed that they would be paid more, even though they had already agreed to labor for a specific price (Matthew 20:11–13).

Lack of love and concern for fellow Christians: The workers did not rejoice with those who rejoiced (Romans 12:15), their fellow laborers. Their thoughts were that the other laborers did not bear the same burden (including the heat of the day) as they did and were not their equals. In our service to God, we must never look upon our brothers and sisters in Christ and complain that they do not labor as we do, nor have labored as long (Matthew 20:11–12).

If the angels in heaven, who have never sinned, rejoice when a sinner repents (Luke 15:7–10), how much more should Christians, who know that they were also once enemies of God and were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, rejoice when they see a lost sheep return to Christ?

Sinful pride in their work and a sense of entitlement: Like the prodigal son’s older brother, they showed their true hearts by resenting the labor they had done. In their minds, they likely thought they could have sat around all day and still made the same amount!

Christians who have been saved for a long time need to beware of this attitude. We can often start to think critically of the “Johnny-come-latelies” to the faith. They haven’t endured the same hardships we have or sacrificed as we have, and they got to “enjoy” the world’s pleasures while we toiled for God! We want the fatted calf killed for us. We want to make merry. We take our eyes off Jesus and transfer our desires to the things of the world and turn our anger on our brothers. 1 Corinthians 4:6–7 and James 3 speak against these types of desires and actions.

What Is God’s Response to the Accusations?

In the parables, God (in the figure of the prodigal’s father or the master of the house) is patient and responds kindly, yet he rebukes the older brother and the workers. He does not chide them for their service but reminds them that they have received fair wages for their service and will receive even more to come. And he lovingly reminds them that others also need his care and provision. Since the parable presupposes that God’s Word is truth, it also means that we should look to Scripture to understand the thoughts behind the “disgruntled” older brother and workers.

Jealousy is evil and an outworking of the flesh.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14)

For you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? (1 Corinthians 3:3)

For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. (2 Corinthians 12:20)

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3–4)

We are not righteous of ourselves—our righteousness mercifully comes from God, and then is manifested as a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:23–26)

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5)

How Does God’s Word Address Our Self-Centered Accusations?

God is not partial, but merciful. See Romans 2:11, 9:14–16; James 1:16–17.

We should desire God alone. See 1 Peter 2:1–2; Isaiah 26:8–9; Psalm 63:1–4.

God commands us to love one another. See Matthew 22:37–40; 1 John 4:7, 10–11, 19–21.

God enables and commands us to serve him. See Romans 12:1–5; Philippians 2:12–16.

Conclusion

These two parables of Jesus show us our sin nature, inherited from Adam, and offer us a glimpse into our own fallen hearts. They serve as a warning to confess our sins when we fall short of God’s perfect standard (1 John 1:9) and should impel us to love one another and to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

As we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18), we as Christians must also be aware of our propensity to be like the prodigal son’s older brother or the complaining workers. We must constantly guard against grumbling, complaining, and contempt for others—especially Christian brothers and sisters. These two parables of Jesus show us our sin nature, inherited from Adam, and offer us a glimpse into our own fallen hearts. They serve as a warning to confess our sins when we fall short of God’s perfect standard (1 John 1:9) and should impel us to love one another and to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:13–17)

At AiG, we often point out that there are only two worldviews, trusting in (and evaluating things through) God’s Word (Christianity) or man’s word (humanism). The biblical worldview assumes the goodness of God and the fallenness of man, both of which are on full display in these two parables.

In our Christian walk, there are also only two choices: walking in the Spirit or walking in the flesh. But as Christians, when we are walking in the flesh, we are as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:3 (NKJV) being carnal, which in essence is trying to syncretize God’s Word with man’s word. That is exactly the picture portrayed by the two parables mentioned: serving God yet trusting in and wishing for the world’s pleasures, approval, and status while denying the promises of our Creator in his Word (Romans 8:28).