Come! Test your human nature and your discipleship. It is very hard to be given one cuff on the right jaw and to turn the other jaw for another cuff. But that is the kind of challenge we face for our discipleship. Pointedly, when we look at Matthew 20:1-16, the story of the Workers in the Vineyard, we are given an ideal example of the difficulties we face in applying the teaching of Jesus to our day-to-day life.
Was the employer fair to those who worked all day? They had agreed freely to the wage, so he was fair. Was he fair to those who worked one hour? He was more than fair, he was generous.
The grumblers in Jesus’ story were his disciples. “Are you envious because I am generous?” was his question to them – and to us. The early workers ought to have been thankful for their blessings, that they had a good job and not had the worry of being unemployed. But no, they griped because somebody else got a break. The employer was kind enough to make sure that all his workers had their reasonable needs met that day, however long they worked. That is the spirit of Christ. To be glad when others are blessed.
When called from our idleness, we are so often touched by that measure of ungratefulness. And when given a task, because of our human nature, we murmur about the inequities measured out to us.
This parable should be a timely reminder for us who have been bearing the heat of the day. It is a reminder that we should rededicate our energy to the goal of reaching the kingdom of God, lest we become ungrateful of our calling. We must be grateful to the Caller.
God, having called us from idleness, has set before us life forever in His kingdom. What is the burden of the work and the heat of the day compared to that prospect?
Let us pray that he who has started a good work in us, will continue to mould and position our choices and our character to be more like his own.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One