God offers all of his servants the fair wage of salvation. No matter how early or late in life we come to follow Jesus, at the end of the day we will all receive the same reward of eternal life. The envious reaction of those who had started work early in the morning is one, which we must constantly guard against. As pious people, the Devil only has so many ways to attack us. He can convince us that we are not worthy or make us feel holier than others. Imagine how those who were not hired until later on in the day felt? Perhaps they were despairing of ever finding work and being able to provide for themselves and their family. They were like those sinners who believe they are unworthy of God’s love. However, God comes to them in the end and asks them to work in his vineyards. Those who came earlier in the day are like those sinners who feel better than others. They have toiled long in life in the service of God and yet in the end they feel cheated because it seems like all their hard work counts for nothing. However, there is only one wage that really matters in the end. We are either saved or not. And make no mistake that if at the Day of Judgment we complain about the salvation of sinners who came to Christ late in life, we will be among the goats and not the sheep because we will be judged according to our own measure.
Are we satisfied with whatever God gives us in life? Who are the people in our lives whom we are envious of? How can we come to love them as we ought to?
O Lord, give us your generous spirit.
Amen.
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