GLEANINGS — September 29, A.D. 2013                                                                                                               "Work, Work, Work"

Being God incarnate, it was perfectly just and good for Jesus to proclaim Himself greater in wisdom than Solomon (Luke 11:31, Mat. 12:42). And so we should not be surprised to find pearls of wisdom when the Master fulfills Psalm 78:2, "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old." (Cf. Mat. 13:35.)
An example is found in Matthew 20:1-16. In this parable, a man seeks laborers to work in his vineyard (a place where grapes are farmed). Some agree to work the full day for one denarius, and start early in the morning. Three times later in the day, the owner hires more men. When the day is almost over, he hires one last crew.
In those days each work day was payday, and arrangements between employers and employees were none of the government's business. So in the evening the owner summoned all the vineyard workers. Beginning with the last crew, he paid them all in turn. Being a good and kind man, he chose to pay the crew who had worked the shortest amount of time the same wage for which the crew hired first had agreed to work: one denarius.
As you might imagine, this did NOT go over well with the first crew, even though they received their just pay as agreed. In their arrogance and incipient "entitlement" mentality, they assumed that they would receive more. Had they been wronged in any way? We must admit: NO. They were promptly paid their  promised wages.
The representation here of the kingdom of heaven as the kingdom of grace (for grace is only grace when it is undeserved), the call to contentment, and to love's requirement that we rejoice in good things received by our neighbor which we have not received are perhaps the more evident lessons in this meaty passage of God's word. 
He Who is greater than Solomon has yet another profound lesson for us in His masterful parable.
What is our attitude toward WORK? Again we look to the crucial book of Genesis and find that at the beginning, man was given work to do; Adam and Eve were not idle or slothful in Eden. The fourth commandment, looking back to the world's first week, not only sets apart one day for worship and holy resting but first tells us to work on the other six days. Contrary to the world's impatient anticipation of what is called "the weekend", contrary to the world's loathing of work and endless pursuit of leisure, we are called to delight in our work, and to count work as a blessing!
It has been said well that "idle hands are the devil's workshop." Rightly applying God's commandments (Gen. 2:15, Ex. 20:9, Mat. 9:38, Eph. 4:28, 1 Thess. 4:11) to how we think and feel about work, let us not think that the workers who were idle for most of the day got a sweet deal. They actually lost out!
Let's take this outlook on those hired last: "How sad! They did not receive the blessing of work, and the attendant blessings of mental and physical stamina which being able to work requires. Their day was spent being exposed to the greater persuasive power which tempation has over the idle, and to the debilitation of mind and body which comes with slothfulness (laziness). Thank You, Lord, for the wonderful GIFT of work!" 
The word of Christ (which is to indwell us richly, Colossians 3:16) thus directing us, we see the crew hired last as actually the most pitiable. No wonder the gracious vineyard owner, imitating the God of all grace, pitied them and gave them a gracious blessing they did not deserve!
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ." (Col. 3:23,24)