God And I Do Not See Eye To Eye!

WHERE GOD AND ME SOMETIME DO NOT AGREE!

Matthew 20:1-15

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

• This will be one of the most unusual sermons, because I'm going to tell you how God and I sometimes have a little controversy with each other

Let’s recap the story I just read.

A certain man went out to hire some workers to work in a field. The Bible says he goes out early in the day. We find out later on in the story that it was six o'clock in the morning that he hired these first workers

He needs some more, so he goes out at nine o'clock in the morning to hire some more workers to work in his field.

He goes out again at noon and hires some more workers to work in his field.

He goes out at three o'clock in the afternoon and hires some more workers to work in his field.

He goes out at five o'clock and hires some more workers to work in his field.

All of them work until six o'clock at night. That means that some people worked twelve hours, and some people worked nine hours,and some people worked six hours, and some people worked three hours, and some people worked one hour.

Now, when pay time came, he gave them all exactly the same amount of money.

Those that went to work early in the morning began to complain about it. They said, "This is not fair because we've worked twelve hours.

These rascals over here get the same amount of money we get, and they've only worked for one hour. It's not fair."

• Now, I'll be honest with you. This parable has always bothered me. They got the same wages - I don't mean per hour, I mean per day.

The fellow that worked one hour got exactly the same amount of money that the fellow got who worked for twelve hours.

What is God trying to teach us, here?

I don't agree with God here. You think it's fair? - now be honest - Do you think it's fair for the fellow who works for twelve hours, all the day long in the hot sun and the heat of the day, and he gets the same

wage as the fellow who works from five until six in the evening?

I don't believe that, but God does. It doesn't make sense. I just don't agree with God on this parable. I cannot see that it's right for a man who works twelve hours to be paid the same as a man who works one hour.

BY THE WAY, THAT'S WHAT FAITH IS. F

• Faith is believing that God is right, even when we disagree.

• Don't miss this now. See, you and I don't think like God.