Is It Fair, Equitable?
Luke 9
11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.
20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:
21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)
26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.
27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
King James Study Bible:
“Jesus’ point, as He approaches Jerusalem and suspense builds, is to keep His followers from expecting too much too soon. Many of the citizens, the Jews, will not acknowledge the nobleman, Jesus, as their Master. And there will be a period when servants will have opportunity to demonstrate their faithfulness and resourcefulness. Jesus by this instruction braces the disciples for some of the jolts and challenges just ahead —— some of which are no less pressing today.”
Benson Commentary:
“And they said, Lord, he hath ten pounds — They speak this in surprise at his assigning it to one who had received so ample a reward, thinking there was no occasion to give an additional pound to one who had so many already. Perhaps they thought it more proper to give it to him who had only five pounds. Nevertheless, the prince stood by his former award, and bestowed the other pound likewise upon him; because it was agreeable to the rules of all wise administrations (my highlight) to bestow the most and greatest trusts on them who, by their fidelity in offices already enjoyed by them, had shown that they best deserved them.”
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I love the response in verse 25 by “them that stood by” —— “Lord, he hath ten pounds.” And, I’m a little hesitant to admit this but … I’ve wondered about that too.
It seems the folks thought it incredulous that the five pound servant didn’t get the extra reward. This course of action, it appeared, was not fair. After all, the ten pounder has so much more already …
*Wouldn't it be more fair, equitable to reward both the ten pounder and the five pounder alike?
*Do we really want the five pounder to potentially undergo the trauma of feeling under appreciated or slighted?
*Didn’t the five pounder, in all actuality, do his best too?
*Don’t we all deserve trophies?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But those perspectives and aspects aren’t, as I see it, the primary point of focus. So … what’s my take on it?
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We now live in a society, in a country, in a world that is all about fairness and equality. (At least that’s what we’re told.) But the plain, simple truth of the matter is:
LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS, NOR IS IT MEANT TO BE, FAIR.
And …
LIFE IS NOT, NOR WILL IT EVER BE, EQUAL.
However now, against all explainable reason, it’s almost seen as criminal if someone through hard work and perseverance seeks to rise above the average and mediocre. And for those that do, it’s seen as uncaring, unloving and discriminatory. We’re expected, required to accept the lowest common denominator as what’s fair, equitable for everyone.
I, personally, take umbrage with that mindset and philosophy.
And I think, in part, this passage of Scripture flies in the face of much, if not all, the fairness/equality mantra that keeps getting dumped upon us.
BECAUSE … if accepted as propagandized, everybody gets layered as being the same. And that’s not biblical.
We are all created equal in the eyes of God. But we are all equipped differently (some more and some less) to occupy a specific place in time for service to God and His kingdom. Not everybody is an eye, for instance, in the body of Christ. Some have to be other parts so as to make a functioning whole.
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Growing up I usually wasn’t the kid, student, or person that stood out for particular attention due to outstanding excellence. Did I like that? Not particularly. Why? Because, truth be told, there were times I truly tried my best.
Illustration from later life:
When I started work at the insurance company in Arizona, I literally knew nothing about anything about insurance or the insurance business. And yet, this big company (spread out into several states) hired me to handle the incoming claims for that particular branch office.
I had worked my fool head off for about six months before the yearly reviews came around. I just knew that, because of how far I’d come in such a short time, I had knocked it out of the proverbial ballpark and was going to get a great review.
However …
That was not the case. My evaluation wasn’t based upon what I had achieved as against what I hadn’t known before I started. In other words, I wasn’t reviewed based on how far I’d come but by how much further I needed to go before reaching the expected performance base.
I was devastated and … told the VP so.
Of course, my words of explanation and protestation didn’t change anything. And mind you, that’s with the girl sitting next to me receiving a glowing review because … I did a fair amount of her work and did most of the work on the special project “we” were assigned to do.
However, that unpleasant review motivated me to try even harder. Why? Because that was the proper standard to hold me to and … it was, in fact, good for the company’s profitability.
BUT initially, to my mind it was unfair, not equitable. She was rewarded for my efforts on her behalf. Of course I never did mention that.
Happy ending:
In my final review for that department (just as I took over the mail department) I got the highest possible review the company gave and … that review was given to me by the very same VP.
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The take away:
I have a sneaky suspicion that, next time, the five pounder will rise to the top and not only get the extra pound but the extra praise he didn’t get: “Well, thou good servant.” Did you notice only the ten pounder got that special recognition?
And admittedly …
From a business perspective, this all speaks to basic prudent business management.
But also …
It speaks to basic prudent personal life management as well.
And so …
It behooves us to remember, realize and accept that ——
All is not fair in life. All doesn’t always have a well rewarded ending. Sometimes things don’t get ironed out and rectified in this life. But that’s just … life.
**Let’s remember the lesson of the five pounder the next time you, me or anybody starts feeling life isn’t being ——
“Fair, Equitalbe”
Because …
There’s a good chance it isn’t.