Matthew 20: 12
These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day’s work and the scorching heat.
Do you remember this story, how the landowner bargained with workers at the beginning of the day to pay them a certain wage for a day’s work in his vineyard? Towards the end of the day he took on more workers. At day’s end, he paid all the workers the same wage, even those who came late in the day. The workers who worked all day were upset that the people who worked a half day, or less, received the same wage as they. I might be upset too.
This is a two-fold message I believe. First, it is an obvious salvation message. Those who come into the vineyard, or in this case the kingdom, are rewarded as generously as those who arrived early. Second, it is a message about God’s kindness and generosity. Why are we upset that he chooses to be generous to those who worked one hour?
I believe part of the answer is that we are still locked into an earning mentality. The workers thought they “earned” their wage by their full day’s labor. They thought they earned the reward through their labor. This passage reveals a God who doesn’t make us earn His benefits. He gives freely. If He chooses to bless people who don’t deserve it, we should be happy rather than angry or jealous because we see God’s love in action towards all people.
Then there are the rewards of salvation. Those of us who have worked in the vineyard for years ought to reap a bigger reward than those who show up at the last minute. Right? That is what our worldly self says to us. Moreover, we feel legitimate in that thought. The reality is, though, that God is giving gifts to all. Salvation is free. None of us deserved His grace when He extended it to us but with time, we have begun to feel that we have earned something. Some people live like the devil and then in the eleventh hour pray to Jesus for salvation while other people have served him all their lives. What is the equity between these two groups? The only equity in God is love. Love bestows great gifts without regard for earnings. That does not square with our brains, but we need to allow it to settle into our spirits. Those who come after us are just as worthy and unworthy as we. The only way we receive a wage or salvation is by the free grace of the Father’s kindness and generosity. We didn’t have to earn it and neither do those people who are making their way towards the kingdom.
I think this story rankles within us because it is so “unfair” in the way we were raised to think. However, when we look at this from God’s perspective it begins to help heal our hearts. We needn’t lament God’s kindness towards anyone for it is that very kindness that blesses us today.
