A Scary Thought
Where we place ourselves in the stories we hear about the Kingdom of God sometimes shows us to have a sense of entitlement instead of an attitude of thankfulness!
The Basics!
This is a weekly Bible study from The Salvation Army Napier based on the message given on the Sunday prior.
Date of Message: 20 November 2011
Title: The Least Deserving
Speaker: Raewyn Gardner
Passage: Matthew 20:1-16
The Story
The parable in Matthew 20:1-16 is about vineyard workers. This is how we tend to read it…
Our Perspective
You show up bright and early, dressed for work, lunch pail in your hand. You’re thrilled when the owner comes by in his flatbed pick up and hires you without so much as an interview, a resume, or a list of references. He promises a generous wage to boot: a whole denarius. You already start thinking about the bills you can pay and meals you can provide and clothes you can buy with that. You needed this job.
I want to say that I wasn’t able to find out quickly how much a denarius was worth in today’s time, but I think we can say it was considered generous.
Anyway the first hour flies. The day’s still cool. Even when the sun comes up – and what a jewel of a day this is going to be – it’s low enough that you can hide in the shadow from the vines. … And the community! You feel an instant connection with the other workers with whom you rode in from town.
But you’re glad to see, a few hours later, a fresh batch of workers join, though they don’t quite know how to do the job as quickly or efficiently. But they’re quick to learn, and it’s not long before it’s like they’ve always been here too, from the beginning.
But a few hours later, and a few hours after that, when more workers show up, it feels different. You feel relief – there’s so much work to do. But you also feel a touch of, hmmm, resentment. They don’t do the work right. They don’t understand the culture here. They’re too eager. And you’re so swelteringly hot and sore and tired and they’re chirping away, no dirt under their fingernails, not even one bead of sweat on their brows.
But what kills you is the crew who shows up 11 hours into the shift. The day’s already cooling again. The heavy lifting’s been done. They work a single hour, if you could call it work; you could do by yourself single-handedly in 10 minutes what three of them barely accomplished in the full hour. You never attempt to talk to any of them.
But then an amazing thing happens.
It’s pay time. The foreman calls up the guys who just showed up last to collect their pay first. That’s galling, until you see what they’re paid. A denarius: a full day’s wages.
You start doing the math. A denarius per hour times 12 hours equals … ooh. You’re about to call the wife on the cell, tell her to get onto Google and book that holiday in Paris, and tell her to go on line and order new luggage while she’s at it, when you notice a disturbing trend. The guys who showed up 3 hours ago get a denarius. And the guys who showed up 6 hours ago get a denarius.
When the foreman finally calls you up … last, though you were here first … and he puts in your hand a denarius, you can barely hold yourself back from spitting on it.
God’s Perspective
But the real story is not about how hard done by we are.
It is about how generous God is!
Kingdom Generosity
The kingdom’s about a generosity on a scale and of a kind the world has never seen and can’t understand. The world’s generosity is always about earning. It’s always tied to a bonus system. Lurking behind all forms of worldly generosity is the idea that I actually have this coming to me. If somebody bends over backwards to help you … you give them something for their efforts.
However, generosity, so called, is rarely generosity. It’s almost always reward.
Kingdom generosity’s the real deal: it doesn’t work on a bonus system at all. It’s not granted in response to some goodness in the recipient. It’s not a reward.
Possible Discussion Questions
-
Why do we tend to see ourselves as an aggrieved party in this story?
-
Do you has a sense of entitlement?
-
How would you view this story if you put yourself in the shoes of the last workers taken on?
Get Your Audio Here!
These Bible studies are designed to be used either in groups or by yourself individually. It’s best if your discussions take place among friends and in person but if you wish to comment on this post you’re most welcome. Please note that comments may be moderated as I see fit.
Photo credit: bfcfranco
