WORSHIP

A Message from Rev. Lisa

“Are you envious because I am generous?” Matthew 20:1-16

The passage of study this week tells the story of the workers in the vineyard and the discontent some of them experienced at the end of the day when they were given wages they deemed to be “unequal”.

Many of us want life to be a predictable ledger of “effort = outcome”. We want to believe that life is as simple as getting what you deserve (while some people are thankful, they didn’t get what they deserve). Many of us are aware that life isn’t as simple as this, and we are left to wonder why some prosper while others struggle.

Our perspectives of what might be “fair” or “unfair”, “equal” or “unequal” are often limited to what we can see. Our God is aware of a very complex paradigm with which we live and the response that God provides might not always align with our expectations. But rest assured, God sees what we don’t see, He hears what we don’t hear, and He is timeless and all knowing.

So, let go and let God…when we begin to compare our life blessings with those around us, we might begin to harbour a spirit of bitterness. But we ought to remember that blessing doesn’t always mean reward, and suffering isn’t punishment. Many of us carry an unspoken belief about life: if we work hard, make good decisions, pray faithfully, and live rightly, then life should go well for us. But life does not always work according to that formula.

The workers were not treated unfairly, they received wages agreed upon. Their complaint was not really about injustice. It was about comparison. They were satisfied until they looked sideways. Jesus invited us to stop looking to the person next to us, and to begin looking upward to Him.

May we be a humble people when The Lord sends blessing, and a gracious people when we experience seasons of hardship. “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of The Lord.” Job 1:21

-Rev. Lisa

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