I was having a hard time accepting the fairness of the pay scale Jesus lays out in the first 16 verses…until this thought occurred to me
Does it seem fair to you? Someone who shows up one hour before quitting time gets paid the same amount as the person who has been working hard since early in the morning? No, that doesn’t sound right to me. And then it occurred to me, I am looking at this passage as if I am the worker who showed up early…but I’m not. I showed up at noon, or maybe three…depending on how long the Lord leaves me on the earth. And just like that, I am praising God for his generosity instead of being upset at his seeming unfairness. It’s all about perspective, right?
Does it seem fair to you? Someone who shows up one hour before quitting time gets paid the same amount as the person who has been working hard since early in the morning? No, that doesn’t sound right to me. And then it occurred to me, I am looking at this passage as if I am the worker who showed up early…but I’m not. I showed up at noon, or maybe three…depending on how long the Lord leaves me on the earth. And just like that, I am praising God for his generosity instead of being upset at his seeming unfairness. It’s all about perspective, right?
The other thing this passage teaches relates to equity in heaven. Since every believer who enters will be filled with the Holy Spirit, there isn’t much else to acquire. I know the Bible says we can “store up treasures in heaven” but unless those treasures have something to do with more of Jesus, or a greater awareness of Him, I struggle to imagine why I would even want them. What possible use is a mansion in heaven? We won’t sleep there, and we will be filled with perfect love so we will enjoy being with other people all the time. There won’t be a carnal streak in us that demands personal property, and all resources will be unlimited. The idea that I could section off a few acres “just for me” doesn’t line up with heaven’s theme and mantra. If Jesus says there are treasures to be had, you can be sure they exist, but I can’t imagine what they are. They must be wonderful, to be sure.
Speaking of fairness, it’s hard not to be put out by James and John’s mother. The nerve of that woman, right? Good grief, there are 10 other disciples in the inner circle, not to mention Peter who is clearly part of the “inner, inner circle” and perhaps hundreds of others who are following Jesus from town to town also, and these two think it’s a good idea to ask for the best seats in heaven? Get a grip, fellas.
On the other hand, these thoughts are representative of our pattern of thinking before we are filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Once James and John were so filled, you would never hear ideas like this again. They simply had outgrown them. The sad part is, we hear ideas like this in Christian society all the time. People always seem to be jockeying for a higher position. Jesus uses the error to teach us a valuable lesson: Among Christians, those who want to lead will be the servant of others. Take for instance…Jesus.
Yesterday I commented on blind Bartimaeus, and in today’s passage there appears to be two blind men. I hope the second blind man was calling out for Jesus as loudly as Bart was. And if he wasn’t, I sure hope he appreciates Bart risking public ire in order to capture the attention of the eternal Healer.
Loving Jesus,
PR