Once upon a time, there was a wealthy landowner who owned a large vineyard. Every morning, he would go out to the vineyard and hire workers to help him tend to the vines.
The landowner would hire workers at the crack of dawn, and he would agree to pay them a fair wage for their work. He would then go out again at nine o’clock, noon, three o’clock, and five o’clock to hire more workers.
At the end of the day, the landowner told the workers to go to the marketplace and receive their wages. The workers who had been hired at the crack of dawn were paid first, and they were each given a full day’s wage.
The workers who had been hired at nine o’clock, noon, three o’clock, and five o’clock were paid last, and they were each given the same amount as the workers who had been hired at the crack of dawn.
The workers who had been hired first were angry and jealous. They thought it was unfair that the landowner had paid the workers who had been hired last the same amount as them.
The landowner saw the anger and jealousy in the eyes of the workers, and he said to them, “My friends, I have done no wrong. I have paid you what we agreed upon. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own money? Or is your eye evil because I am good?”
The landowner then went on to explain the parable of the workers in the vineyard. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a fair wage for their work.
“He went out again at nine o’clock, noon, three o’clock, and five o’clock to hire more workers. When it was time to pay the workers, he paid those who had been hired last the same amount as those who had been hired first.
“So you see, it is not the will of the landowner that matters, but the will of God. God is generous and merciful, and he gives to all who come to him, regardless of when they come. He does not show favoritism or partiality.
The moral of this story is that God is generous and merciful, and he gives to all who come to him, regardless of when they come. He does not show favoritism or partiality. We should all strive to be like God and show kindness and generosity to all, no matter who they are or when they come.
