A Story About Workers
1 "The kingdom of heaven is like a person who owned some land. One morning, he went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. 2 The man agreed to pay the workers one coin for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work.3 About nine o'clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there, doing nothing.4 So he said to them, 'If you go and work in my vineyard, I will pay you what your work is worth.'5 So they went to work in the vineyard. The man went out again about twelve o'clock and three o'clock and did the same thing.6 About five o'clock the man went to the marketplace again and saw others standing there. He asked them, Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?' 7 They answered, No one gave us a job.' The man said to them, Then you can go and work in my vineyard.'
8 "At the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard said to the boss of all the workers, Call the workers and pay them. Start with the last people I hired and end with those I hired first.'
9 "When the workers who were hired at five o'clock came to get their pay, each received one coin. 10 When the workers who were hired first came to get their pay, they thought they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received one coin.11 When they got their coin, they complained to the man who owned the land.12 They said, Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you paid them the same as you paid us who worked hard all day in the hot sun.'13But the man who owned the vineyard said to one of those workers, Friend, I am being fair to you. You agreed to work for one coin.14 So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay that I gave you. 15 I can do what I want with my own money. Are you jealous because I am good to those people?'
16 "So those who are last now will someday be first, and those who are first now will someday be last."
(Matthew 20: 1-16)
Over the last few days I have been pondering my reaction to the Budget, and it is no secret that it made me angry, while I currently think that the media and the Labour Party are over playing the so called "Granny Tax", I do think that it was primarily a budget for the rich, a vote winning ploy that I also believe will backfire for anger and frustration will propel even the most complacent to the polling stations when a General Election is called.
I also fundamentally disagree that the way to get people to work is to cut their benefits and force them into the jobs market, I'd like to invite the Chancellor to visit rural North Yorkshire, particularly the area between Leeds and Hull, where jobs are scarce and public transport is limited and expensive. How can cutting benefits for people who are already struggling to pay bills and buy food do anything but demotivate them. Only this week I spoke to someone who hates going out, who despairs over the weekly shop because the lists she makes are always about what not to buy! I am also frustrated that things like Disability Benefit and Family Tax Credits etc are being slashed with little regard to need.
All of that is important, as is the NHS, Social Services, Education etc. and the marginalised and the poor need people to speak out with them, but what has been niggling away at me is that we are encouraged again and again by the media to demand a certain standard of living. Lets face it, if the truth be known equality and justice may be the words on our lips but I wonder if that is what is in our hearts? I suspect that secretly we'd all like to be just a bit richer, and just a bit more comfortable, and that our wants and needs easily become muddled in our minds...
We grumble about paying taxes yet demand a sustainable infrastructure that will continue to supply us with a National Health Service, Education, roads etc, and yes there are other ways of raising income, and no rich individuals and business (and banks) should not get away with tax avoidance and arguably don't need the tax breaks they have been afforded, but does that really give us the right to grumble, shouldn't we too be helping to provide for the Welfare State etc? (in proportion obviously)
All this got me to thinking how things might look in God's economy, at a surface reading the parable above could be an encouragement to develop a Marxist economy, but history reminds us of the pitfalls and corruptions inherent within that...
So how does the parable challenge us?
I think that this is a call to justice, equality and contentment, and it raises some questions for us, it seems that some of the workers weren't there first thing in the morning, maybe some of them had not appeared until the farmer made his last visit, unless he'd overlooked them. Surely they don't deserve a days pay. But what if they have offered as much as they can, what if the other demands upon them (children, elderly parents, a sick spouse) mean that they can only offer to work for an hour or two, now how do things look, are they lesser because of their circumstances?
Are those who do more worth more? Or does God's kingdom economy challenge us to look at things in another way? So when I look at the budget I see two levels of greed at work, that of the fat cats, individuals and corporations and my own, and I cannot with any form of integrity speak up about the greed of others unless I am willing to deal with my own greed.
Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting that God's kingdom calls us to a life of scrimping and slavery; Jesus himself spoke about fullness of life! and enjoyed a good party, but if wealth were fairly distributed then surely there would be enough for all, if we cared for the environment and lived more a sustainable and healthy existence (perhaps not demanding endless supplies of meat) there might be food for all. If we challenged corruption on the basis of the value of all living things rather than economic demands, how might our world look?
Is this a dream, well maybe it is, but it challenges me to remember those who struggle on a daily basis and to do what I can about it, only then do I win the right to challenge the system that causes the problem!
Recent Comments