The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
The landowner's hiring practices reveal that he concerned with more than simply maximizing the productivity of his vineyard. If he were interested only in profit we might imagine him searching through the markets for potential workers as frequently as he did. But in such a case, if desperation drove him to hire even when there was only an hour left to work, we can't imagine he would have paid those workers equivalent wages when he need not do so. It seems that he was concerned more for the potential laborers themselves than they themselves ever realized. He asked, "Why do you stand here idle all day?". He could hear in their answer, "Because no one has hired us", individuals whose potential was being wasted, whose hearts were unfulfilled.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
'These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day's burden and the heat.'
It seemed, however, that those who worked did not share the landowner's view about the value of their work. They had forgotten or not experienced what it was like to stand idle and to feel as though the world had no use for them. They took for granted too the fact of the master's promise of a wage of justice, a promise that removed any need for them to fear for the future. All they could think of was the day's burden and the heat, and how much more of both they bore than those hired in the last hour. As a consequence of what they endured they came to believe in an increasing sense of self-entitlement. The just wage came to be seen as something they deserved, as though they were entitled to have these jobs before they even showed up that day in the market to look for work.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?
The Lord does ask us to work, and that in several senses. Even in the Garden of Eden Adam was meant to work tilling the ground and guarding the garden (see Genesis 2:15). Work was never a punishment. The burden associated with work, it is true, was a consequence of the fall (see Genesis 3:19), but not work itself. Even matters of salvation were to be worked out with fear and trembling (see Philippians 2:12). It was faith working through love that availed for salvation (see Galatians 5:6). Yet it was never the work itself that purchased salvation and no amount of good deeds could make one deserve what Jesus did on the cross.
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness (see Romans 4:4-5).
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (see Ephesians 2:8-9).
Everyone tends to grumble when the work becomes burdensome and the day becomes hot. But we are not meant to lose sight of the generosity of the landowner, and the care he shows for each worker in his vineyard. He seeks workers just as the shepherd seeks for even a single lost sheep. And the reward has more in common with the feast for the prodigal son than money received on payday. Two extremes are to be avoided. One is the idleness that refuses to engage with the work of the vineyard at all. The other is the attitude of grumbling about the landowner's generosity. Such grumbling arises from the envy that is the result of comparing our circumstances with those of others. Instead, if we could see ourselves and them with the compassionate heart of our Lord we would delight to see them share with us a reward that is one and the same.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
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