Same Wage

Matthew 20: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

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“How are we getting the same pay?” I exclaimed in my mind. This guy does nothing but play golf and guess at things, then he comes to me for answers!

• I have been jealous over some else’s position.
• I have been upset over someone else’s rewards.
• I have been envious when someone gets treated the same as me for doing less.

JESUS says “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” This story sounded unfair at first but HE was speaking of the kingdom of heaven in which no one deserved it at all. In heaven people will look over at me and say “How in the world did this person get in?”

JESUS wants me to accept my wages gratefully, so much so that I go out and recruit more workers for the vineyard.

• Are you jealous over what others are receiving?
• Do you feel that you should have more and are mad at GOD?
• Can you drop your anger and allow GOD to bless you and receive thanks from you?