Stand and Make Sure God Counts You Too

When the landowner is God, the nature of your work isn’t going to be about money anymore

Image Source: flowingfaith.com

By Khen Lim

Imagine for the moment that a massive recession has struck the national economy, causing large-scale unemployment throughout the workforce. Imagine too that you are amongst those who had lost their jobs. You join millions of others becoming worried about being made redundant but more so, you are concerned about how to pay your debts, much less feed your family.

Like others, you plod to the marketplace with your tools, hoping to get picked for a paying day job. The landowner makes his first round, sees you and the others and hire all of you but not before he explains your wages and what obliging agreement there is between all parties. So you set off to work, toiling under the sun, sweating under the brow but knowing that by the day’s end, you can at least save your family.

However you also notice that more workers are streaming in and joining you on the land. The landowner promises ‘fair’ wages for what work they put in. You believe ‘fair’ means ‘reasonable’ for work done for the remaining hours. By dusk the landowner tells his supervisor to pay the workers but instead, he wanted the last to be the first to get paid!

Shocked to discover that all are to be paid the same, you become upset and raise your complaint of unfairness, suggesting that maybe you shouldn’t have started so early if it doesn’t seem fair to you. Invariably you end up laying down terms of labour as you deem ‘fair’ and ‘just’ in your eyes. That in gist is what Matthew 20:1-16 is about.

No labour union won’t revolt with such a script. HR heads would have nightmares dealing with this. It appears incredulous and impractical but to God, this is exactly how He sees Himself as the landowner of His own vineyard, His kingdom, and not surprisingly, we assumed it’s about work but it’s not – it’s about us.

For context, this parable resulted from disciples hinting claims of reward for having left everything to follow Jesus – Peter himself thought he should receive more than the rich young man would have (19:27). So here are four lessons to abide by:

God is sovereign and inerrant

He is the landowner, He owns the kingdom and sets the rules. He pays the people however much He feels. The pay does not have to reflect any worldly rationale. His terms of ‘fairness’ are unlike what we know and hence, there is nothing to challenge. He is right and nobody can find Him errant.

To those in service, God is fair

We see it as unfair how latecomers are paid the same but to God, He is fair – no one got paid less than He promised. The trick is in how you see things. The latecomers accepted His promise of ‘fairness’ without any agreement. They staked their trust in His word and they tirelessly fulfilled their end of the bargain. Whereas first-comers worked on the basis of having an agreement in place and with that, the wages were set as mutually agreed. Nothing wrong with that except we should really reassess our attitude.

God’s grace is fully gratifying

If the landowner had not come, no one would have a job. Everyone would be unemployed, unable to meet debts and incapable of keeping the family fed. In our sinfulness, we hardly qualify for God’s help; still His grace is more than good enough – so is God being unfair that we should receive His grace? By His Grace, all things are possible (19:30) including being last and yet first.

Be happy with what you have, not envy what others have

Here, God basically tells us to mind our own business for our own good. Yet we persistently focus on what He gives others rather than being content with what He has given us. If the first-comers were happy to start with, why aren’t they still happy at the end of the day? Does that sound like envy to you?

God says that in finality, it is neither by length of service nor by the amount of work that His grace operates. Instead it is by what He chooses to give. And here’s the terse warning – be not proud of what you have done and don’t feel as if you deserve more than the others. Our job is to be faithful and grateful that He chose any one of us.

At the end of it all, it’s about how we respond (or not respond) to God. The bottom line is are you ready for the chance to serve God? Every Sunday, He offers you the opportunity to raise your hand and say, “Count me in.” Every opportunity, God doesn’t miss out on including you. Every chance He has, He’s saying, “Stand up and be counted.”

So will you take Him up or spurn Him? Will you rejoice at the chance or will you recoil? Will you be grateful or will you be spiteful? It’s always your call.