Matthew 20:1-16
It's not fair! (stomp feet, jump up and down)
It's not fair! (stomp feet, jump up and down)
‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. 5When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’
So I come into work and announce (big mistake) that I got gas the other day in 13 minutes flat, 15 if you count the 2 minutes it took us to drive to the local gas station. All this in a post Sandy reality. If looks could kill I would have been dead, dead, dead. People waited for 2 hours, 3 hours, and even more than 8 hours!. Holy crap! There seems to be something almost unnatural that we don't want people to get the same good deal we got at anything. Whether it's a TV, a hotel room, the price of a car, the discount we got on A,B or C. It almost seems like a competition. I do it myself without even thinking. Did I tell you how high I can get my mileage with my new Prius? It can get unbearable, all this stuff.
I guess it was the same back in the time of Jesus. The laborers didn't think very highly of getting paid the same as the workers that only worked half a day.
But you know, God's standards are not our standards. God is incredibly generous with us, not to mention patient. So if you think about it, it really is very Godlike for him to welcome some johnny come lately into heaven when we may have been faithful servants our whole lives. What do we think of the person on death row that 'finds Jesus'? Suspicious at best. We might even be heard asking "do you think God will fall for it?"
But it's like I said, God is patient and incredibly loving. God is so loving that we may not be able to wrap our minds around such love. But I assure you God is THAT loving.
I don't think we will ever be able to attain that level of loving and generosity, especially the way our media and advertising seem to grab hold of us. But it is comforting to know that God understands but doesn't follow Madison Avenue like we do. It's also good for us to know how we should try to act even if we know we will fall short. Just don't delude yourself into some ad exec's line that this is what God would really wants unless it is to be loving, kind, patient and forgiving.
So I come into work and announce (big mistake) that I got gas the other day in 13 minutes flat, 15 if you count the 2 minutes it took us to drive to the local gas station. All this in a post Sandy reality. If looks could kill I would have been dead, dead, dead. People waited for 2 hours, 3 hours, and even more than 8 hours!. Holy crap! There seems to be something almost unnatural that we don't want people to get the same good deal we got at anything. Whether it's a TV, a hotel room, the price of a car, the discount we got on A,B or C. It almost seems like a competition. I do it myself without even thinking. Did I tell you how high I can get my mileage with my new Prius? It can get unbearable, all this stuff.
I guess it was the same back in the time of Jesus. The laborers didn't think very highly of getting paid the same as the workers that only worked half a day.
But you know, God's standards are not our standards. God is incredibly generous with us, not to mention patient. So if you think about it, it really is very Godlike for him to welcome some johnny come lately into heaven when we may have been faithful servants our whole lives. What do we think of the person on death row that 'finds Jesus'? Suspicious at best. We might even be heard asking "do you think God will fall for it?"
But it's like I said, God is patient and incredibly loving. God is so loving that we may not be able to wrap our minds around such love. But I assure you God is THAT loving.
I don't think we will ever be able to attain that level of loving and generosity, especially the way our media and advertising seem to grab hold of us. But it is comforting to know that God understands but doesn't follow Madison Avenue like we do. It's also good for us to know how we should try to act even if we know we will fall short. Just don't delude yourself into some ad exec's line that this is what God would really wants unless it is to be loving, kind, patient and forgiving.
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