"Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?"
Matthew 20:15
This verse is part of the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, and it is interesting because the ideas here are at odds with the world in some big ways.
In the story, the owner of the vineyard (symbolic of God) goes out to hire people really early in the morning, and agrees to pay them a certain amount. Basically a day's wages. Then, a few hours later he goes back to hire other people, and several more times he goes back, promising all the new workers that he will pay them "whatsoever is right" (verses 4 and 7). The last workers only worked for an hour. At the end of the day, everyone lines up to be paid, and the owner pays the people who only worked for an hour a full day's wage. The other people in line, presumably, all perk up at that, thinking wow. If those guys got so much, then I must be getting a lot. :) But the owner pays everyone the same amount. ... So the people who worked the whole day start grumbling, saying "These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us" (verse 12).
Living in the world, the story can seem pretty unfair. We're kind of programmed to think that more work = more money, right? And if some of those people only worked an hour, then they should only get an hour's worth of the daily wage. Or, if the guy wanted to be generous, then the people who worked all day should get a lot more. And I think that the parable is meant to challenge exactly these beliefs.
What it makes me think of today is the Israelites gathering manna in the wilderness. They could only gather as much as they could eat in a day. If they gathered more (except before the sabbath), it would rot. Everyone was given what they needed to live, and no one got extra. I think there might be a similar message here--that God is willing to provide for all of us, but that he *wants* us to be equal.
There are a lot of variables in this story that might make us feel better about it. Why wasn't everyone ready to be hired at the beginning of the day? If it's just laziness then we want to complain about the unfairness, but if they were really trying their best, and no one was willing to hire them, then what? What if they were family? What if the guys who only worked half the day were unable to work because of illness or because they had to attend a funeral? What if without a full day's wage people would suffer and starve? And, perhaps biggest of all, what if *we* were not the ones who worked the whole day, but the ones that only worked an hour? In a spiritual sense, are any of us really the people who worked the whole day? Don't we all need some mercy?
In the end, it is God's decision about what to do with his "wages," and if those wages are salvation or eternal life or even just blessings, do we really want to deny others those things because it isn't "fair"? Today, let's make sure our eyes are not evil because God is good. Let's work on adjusting our perspectives, and try to rejoice in other's people's happiness and good fortune. Things aren't often going to be fair in life, but as we help and lift each other, we can make things better, and share what we have so that others don't have to suffer or starve.
Matthew 20:15
This verse is part of the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, and it is interesting because the ideas here are at odds with the world in some big ways.
Living in the world, the story can seem pretty unfair. We're kind of programmed to think that more work = more money, right? And if some of those people only worked an hour, then they should only get an hour's worth of the daily wage. Or, if the guy wanted to be generous, then the people who worked all day should get a lot more. And I think that the parable is meant to challenge exactly these beliefs.
What it makes me think of today is the Israelites gathering manna in the wilderness. They could only gather as much as they could eat in a day. If they gathered more (except before the sabbath), it would rot. Everyone was given what they needed to live, and no one got extra. I think there might be a similar message here--that God is willing to provide for all of us, but that he *wants* us to be equal.
There are a lot of variables in this story that might make us feel better about it. Why wasn't everyone ready to be hired at the beginning of the day? If it's just laziness then we want to complain about the unfairness, but if they were really trying their best, and no one was willing to hire them, then what? What if they were family? What if the guys who only worked half the day were unable to work because of illness or because they had to attend a funeral? What if without a full day's wage people would suffer and starve? And, perhaps biggest of all, what if *we* were not the ones who worked the whole day, but the ones that only worked an hour? In a spiritual sense, are any of us really the people who worked the whole day? Don't we all need some mercy?
In the end, it is God's decision about what to do with his "wages," and if those wages are salvation or eternal life or even just blessings, do we really want to deny others those things because it isn't "fair"? Today, let's make sure our eyes are not evil because God is good. Let's work on adjusting our perspectives, and try to rejoice in other's people's happiness and good fortune. Things aren't often going to be fair in life, but as we help and lift each other, we can make things better, and share what we have so that others don't have to suffer or starve.
The Gentiles are in for One hour.
ReplyDeleteThe time is going to an End.
The flesh eye is sin.
God is good.Amen 😧.