I was recently part of a preorder campaign for a game where those who ordered on the first day got something minor (an extra card, in a game with hundreds of cards). The preorder campaign ended up being much more successful than anticipated, and the creator — to express his gratitude for the influx of customers – said that everyone would get the extra card.
This decision made a few of the people who had preordered the game originally annoyed. “But we thought we were getting something exclusive!” they bemoaned.
I was one of those first-day customers, and I couldn’t understand the vehemence that some of the other first-day customers had. Did the game they preordered somehow become less fun because other people got the minor extra goodie? Any of those customers who had preordered on the first day had the option to cancel their preorder if they were unhappy with the new arrangement; why didn’t they do so?
When this incident happened, I was reminded of today’s selection from the Gospel of Matthew. In this, the story of the Workers in the Vineyard, Christ tells a parable where those who started working late in the day got the same payment as those who started working earlier in the day. Jesus explains that this is what the kingdom of heaven is like.
Like the game I preordered, those who had worked all day were grumbling and complaining that they received nothing better than those who had been hired later. The landowner (whom we can presume to be analogous to God) replies, “My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? . . . 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?”
This is a challenging parable for many Christians, including some members of my own family. Here are some of the big ideas I’ve had while reflecting on this:
- There is no greater reward than heaven. We are either with God for a life of being with Him amid His infinite glory until we’re raised up on the last day, or we’re not. There are no tiers in heaven; there are no rooms next to the ice machine, or suites where the view is really beautiful. It’s heaven – it literally means the ultimate paradise.
- Your happiness cannot depend on other people being miserable. This is one of the most human, least-Christ-like problems that faces the world. If I can’t be happy unless I see my enemies are punished, I will never truly be happy. Even if my enemies were punished, that happiness I feel would not be the love of Christ. Again, read the scriptures and you see time and again a message of God’s forgiveness, God’s infinite love, God’s plan of redemption for the whole world. When those who oppose us turn away from God’s plan, we should not rejoice. When we are to pray for our enemies, it should not be for hellfire and brimstone, but for them to become better people. As it says in Ezekiel 33:11, “As I live, says the Lord GOD, I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man’s conversion, that he may live.”
- It is never too late to turn to God. So long as breath courses through our lungs, we can turn our minds and hearts over to God. If we do, heaven is open to us. This message is repeated many times in the Bible and in our own stories of the saints. If we don’t believe that, we don’t believe in Christ.
- To be envious of the late-comers is to be envious of those who have not found God. What does that say about us? Do we want to explore lives of debauchery, but we’re grumbly disciples of Jesus? Do we really wish we could commit whatever unspeakable sins we can imagine? If so, I suggest we’re not really disciples of Jesus. Those who breastfed as children do not – as adults – look longingly on nursing upon their mother’s bosom; it’s an alien thought, an unreclaimable memory of a time we have grown beyond. So too should lives of sin, indulgence, and selfishness be distant memories if we have truly taken Christ into our hearts. We should not envy those who do not have God in their lives. If we do, that may be a serious sign we do not fully have God in our own lives. Jesus says, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:30) If we don’t believe that, if we don’t feel that, it’s a sign we need to look at what’s really weighing us down.
I have tried hard in my life not to have enemies; I have lived a life fairly free of hatred. There are those from whom I’ve grown apart. I do not wish them ill. I pray for them. In a perfect world, all my enemies would be in heaven with me. That would be in keeping with God’s plan. That would mean they’ve turned their hearts away from that which divides them from God — and from me. They would not be the same people anymore, thanks to a new life in Christ. I would not envy them for those years they spent apart from God; I would pity them for it. The love of Christ has been a blessing to me – a comfort in hard times, a companion in good.
No Godless temptation on Earth should prove the slightest grounds for envy. We should trust the landowner of heaven to reward us as He sees fit. Give thanks for all who have come to do God’s work, regardless of when they do so. Remain ever-vigilant against envy, one of the seven deadly sins. And be grateful for God’s generosity . . . a gift available to all, at any time.
