20 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.

³ “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. ⁴ So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. ⁵ So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

⁶ “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

⁷ “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’

“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

⁸ “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. ⁹ When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. ¹⁰ When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. ¹¹ When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, ¹² ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

¹³ “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? ¹⁴ Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. ¹⁵ Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

¹⁶ “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

Matthew 20:1-16

Dear God, it’s interesting that the theme of my series teaching Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and David to the Christian Men’s Life Skills class over the last eight weeks has been the danger of self-pity. I’ve tried to teach them that we are all at our worst when we are claiming our rights and feeling sorry for ourselves. I’ve been that way often (I’m still sometimes that way) when I get upset about how different people treat me. “How dare they?!?” “I deserve better!” But do I? Do I have a right to the rights I’m claiming, or am I allowing my self-perceived rights to distract me from loving and worshipping you and caring about and loving them? If I start to make an idol out of my rights with my self-pity then that’s the top of the slippery slope into selfishness.

I thought of this story this morning because I am supposed to be teaching the guys about work ethic over the last two weeks of the class. This next week will be mostly about applying for a job, interviewing, explaining their legal past, etc. But at some point we are going to be talking about working as unto you. So I’ll explore these passages a little bit. For me, while this story is mainly about those coming into your Kingdom at the end of their lives getting the same reward as those that come to you early in their life, it is also about this idea of dying to yourself. The other one that comes to mind is Colossians 3:23 which talks about working as unto you. Again, am I in it for me or for my love and worship of you?

Father, as I enter this day, help me to work as unto you. Help me to love as unto you. Help me to die to myself. Help me to sacrifice my selfishness and rights to the cross and take up your cross and follow you. Jesus didn’t show us his own rights while he was here. He showed us selflessness. Help me to live that way today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen