GOD WILL GIVE US ‘WHAT IS RIGHT’

Reference text: Matthew 20:1-16

Before signing employment contracts, among the many things clarified and agreed upon is renumeration. That takes into account salaries, bonuses, dividends, and all manner of support or allowances. It is thus unusual for an individual to sign an employment contract and leave their employer to dictate the terms of their renumeration, without any negotiation.

Yet, that is a key feature in today’s parable. The only set of workers who negotiated a set salary were those hired in the early hours of the morning “they agreed to a denarius for the day”. The labourers hired at the third, sixth, ninth hours agreed to receive “what was right”, and the last batch hired at the eleventh hour just went to work without any assurances.

We read at the end of the day that they all received the same amount although those hired earlier expected more. However, as the vineyard owner rightly said they had no case because they signed their contracts agreeing to an exact negotiated amount which he honoured.

Reflecting on this, I thought ‘what is right?’ While we may sense a desperation led decision by the labourers to accept whatever was offered, there is an underlying foundation of trust in the vineyard owner. All those hired later, trusted him to make good on his own word.

We read in scripture that “God has exalted His word above himself” and we know He is Omniscient. So surely, He knows “what is right” for each of us. That then, is the form our renumeration takes for our service in his vineyard because he is not unjust to forget our labours of love. Our role then, is to be effective labours in His vineyard.

You can negotiate your own personal terms with God or trust Him to give you ‘what is right’. The choice is yours. 

#sly