Matthew 20 Grateful or Selfish?

Today we have what are called, day hires or day workers. You can drive down a street to a meeting place and outside you will see men standing in hopes of being hired for a day’s wage, usually in some construction work. This is not a new phenomena, but we can see the similarities except for the wages paid at the end of the work day.  It is said that the ones hired offered their services and the one hiring agrees on a wage for the day. 

Like today’s day hires, Jesus told a parable about a landowner who offered work to those in the market square.The differences were the project, the time they were hired and worked, and the pay at the end of the day. Each one agreed with the landowner to be paid a certain wage but at the end of the day, the landowner chose to pay the last hired first and then the first hired last. Each one received the same pay no matter the time they were hired and worked. 

If this were you, how would you have responded when you realized that the last hired were paid the same wage as the first hired? Just like many of us, the grumbling began because the first hired worked longer and yet were paid the same. Jesus told this parable to remind each of us that no matter when we accepted Christ, all will be rewarded with the wage He has determined and the wage will be the what He determines not us. To say otherwise shows our ungrateful heart. How about you?