Matthew 20: 1-16
I like this parable a lot. It is a tough one for many to relate to life here on Earth but when it comes to God's salvation, it's easy to think of. So, the vineyard owner hired people to work his vineyard for a denarius. He started early in the morning, and about every hour on the hour, he went to town and hired more people until the eleventh hour. When it was time to pay the men, he started with the most recently hired. Even though he started work many hours after the first set of workers, the owner still paid them a denarius. The first hired, last paid, were upset because they thought they deserved more because they worked harder. The vineyard owner ended the parable by saying, "Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?"
In the eyes of God, the man who first proclaims the Lord as his God by voice and heart is just as worthy to be saved as the man who lived a full worldly life and on the last day of his life on Earth proclaims the Lord as his God by voice and by heart. Once you receive Jesus as our savior you are an equal in God's eye. You are saved and deserve the same kingdom as everyone who receives the Holy Spirit. I am young, just barely holding on to 24, and hope to live a very long life praising God and doing His will, sharing His glory and doing all that He asks of me. I shall not be envious of the man who enjoyed all of the worldly things for an entire lifetime only to find God on his deathbed, proclaiming the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, being saved and worthy of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. And when you live in the Word and with the Spirit, I will not be envious but rather thankful that another brother/sister in Christ has been saved.
Alright, that is my attempt at giving my two cents as if we were in a Bible study. Now, let me just type out loud. With today's law it is near impossible for this situation to truly happen. That's okay since it was meant to explain a hypothetical situation. But what if this truly happen. What if I am at working getting paid the same amount as the person next to me. They come in and do the bare minimum just so they won't get fired because they are doing their job. I come in and I want to do my best. So, I do all that I can to not only get my job done, but to also help everyone else around me. I do all my tasks efficiently with a smile. See what I am saying here? After 3 months of this activity, we have our review. Myself and the other worker both get the same raise because when we were hired it was said that after 3 months, if we did our job we would get $X more/hour. My initial reaction would be anger because I in my eyes, I worked so much harder to do what they asked of me. Wow, as I write this, I realize how hard this would actually be to swallow.
I think we should all swallow hard, thank God for taking us for who we are. Our goal should not be to compare ourselves to those around us, but rather to seek God's glory. Not what can I do more than so-and-so, but rather, what would God want me to do? Pray that the Lord will shine out His will on your path and put on blinders so that you do not have the envious urge to see what others are doing.
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