“So the last shall be first, and the first last.”

Matthew 20:1-16 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; ⁴ and to those he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ And so they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. ¹⁰ When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ ¹³ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁶ So the last shall be first, and the first last.”…

“So the last shall be first, and the first last.” In this parable of the kingdom of heaven we see a landowner paying wages to workers at the end of the day. Some had only worked one hour others had labored the whole day. Those who came last were paid first and they received the same payment as those who had worked the whole day. We can certainly understand that those laborers who worked the whole day felt that it was unfair, certainly we too would object to this kind of practice in our own workplaces. In kingdom things though, we do need to look at things differently. Yet try as we might, we often find ourselves questioning the way God blesses someone who doesn’t seem, in our eyes, to be a very good Christian. It can be that after we have walked with the Lord for many years, while God is good and still blesses us, it seems the miraculous blessings and provisions happen more frequently in the lives of new believers, even some whose lives still seem to be a mess.

We need to, like the laborer in the parable, receive thankfully what the Lord gives and provides for us each day. Our focus should remain on Christ. Romans 12:15-16 says:     Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.    The parable of the prodigal has a similar lesson to those who have been with the Lord. In Luke 15:29-32, we see the reaction of the older brother and the response of the father.

‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; ³⁰ but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

We need to understand that like that son, we too have all of the wealth and the blessings of the kingdom around us. Jesus says: “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. If we are in Christ, walking with Him and serving Him, then all that He has is ours. If we are not living and walking as blessed people we should not look at what others have, we should not complain about the way God blesses others. We should, as Jesus says:      “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”(Matthew 5:33)    The psalmist says:    “Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”  If we are feeling like we are serving God and not receiving the benefits perhaps it is because we have become more focused on our service, what we do for God, than we are on God Himself. We are called and commissioned to minister for the Lord, but we should never neglect what is first and foremost. Jesus says: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and foremost commandment.”    Our priority must always be loving and worshiping God. Our service flows from that. If we delight in God, then what He gives us is what we need, regardless of what others may have. We must seek what is spiritual not what is physical.

We are not responsible to be the most blessed in spiritual things only to do the best with what we are given. That’s the lesson of the parable of talents in Matthew 25. Verses 22-30 say:    “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴ “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ²⁷ Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

²⁹ “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ³⁰ Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Our desire should not be based on what we have here and now, but rather on hearing the words: ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

It’s not about whether we are first or last. It’s not about how much we have or how much we are given. Our focus, our delight should be in the Lord, in loving Him with all our heart soul and mind and in doing all for His glory.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; Holy Spirit thank You for all the blessings You have given me and thank You for blessing others. May I be faithful in all I do to love You and serve You to delight in You. In Jesus name.    Amen.