Is thine eye evil because I am good?
We get the idea behind our Lord’s parable.
We get that the Lord gives
what he wants to give,
and sometimes it looks unfair.
Those who have put in hard work
from the first hour
are paid less per hour
than those who work
from the eleventh hour.
Per hour, it's unfair.
Per hour,
those who work at the eleventh hour
get twelve times more
than those who work at the first hour.
But do you see the problem with this?
[PAUSE]
We like to look at things,
particularly payment,
in terms of the going rate.
The amount paid by hour in this case.
But what these workers fail to see
is that the Lord has given
a fair day's pay
for a fair day’s work.
Per day,
or part thereof,
they have received
the same.
That is the going rate,
that is the rate they agreed.
We know that those
who have worked all day
have not been tricked or deceived.
They have enough to live on.
What they dislike
is the fact that
someone else’s time seems
to be more precious than theirs.
Is thine eye evil because I am good?
What we are beginning to see here
in this dividing the day into twelve hours,
is the idea of entitlement.
These workers are dividing the day up
to suit their rate
regardless of the fact
that everyone will get a fair day's pay.
These workers from the first hour
believe that they are entitled to more
because they have worked
twelve times more
than those who came at the last hour.
They believe that they are entitled
to what they think is fair.
But the first workers
and the last workers have worked
one day for one day’s pay
in the eyes of the Lord.
[PAUSE]
Entitlement is very much
a word for today.
We look at entitled people
who try to get more,
or to get something extraordinary
based on their own sense of entitlement.
The trouble is that their view
of what they are entitled to
is not the same is that agreed
by the community,
by the country,
by God.
Is thine eye evil because I am good?
We see that entitled people
suffer from Envy.
Envy is perhaps the saddest sin going,
because it is based on discomfort
surrounding another person’s goods.
There is nothing to enjoy in Envy.
Entitlement is born of envy.
It means that entitled folk
just cannot keep their eyes
on their own situation.
The consequence is simple
they kick up a fuss,
they scream and shout
and demand to be heard
by the boss,
the manager,
the Lord.
And they demand
that their entitlement
be honoured
at the expense
of the good of others.
What they don't realise
is that they are not in control
of the goods that they receive.
The pay that they get is
already agreed with the employers.
As long as the pay is fair,
there is no problem
but someone else's pay packet
should not really be the cause
of demanding a raise.
To have an evil eye
for the goodness of God
is one of the saddest things going.
We can never enter
a relationship with God
or with each other
if we believe that
we are entitled to anything.
We need to realise that,
with God,
we are entitled to
absolutely nothing.
[PAUSE]
Does that make you uncomfortable?
Knowing that with God
you have
no rights,
no entitlements,
no credit arrangements.
The thing that the Entitled need most
is humility.
The first gift that
God gives anyone
is that of existence.
We exist because
God has created us.
And also we have
the gift of salvation –
life with God.
In this parable,
we see the people
who have been with God
for thousands of years
being regarded just as highly
as those who have come to God
at the last minute.
This eternal life with God,
is precisely God’s gift to us.
We don't earn it,
though we do play a part
in acquiring our salvation
because we learn to work with God
in our own creation.
We have to receive
the gift that is offered to us.
We have to be thankful truly for
the gift that is offered to us.
We have to use
the gift that is offered to us.
The first workers
are complaining about
the eternal life,
the salvation,
of those who have
only just come to Christ.
To concern yourself with
another's salvation,
and to base your system of worth
upon another’s salvation
defeats the object of that salvation
because it denies God
His right as Creator
to say what is good, just and fair.
We do like to speculate
about other people’s salvation.
We do like to speculate
about the state of other people’s souls.
What we forget to do is
to look at the state of our own soul.
Of course,
we do have to look out for other people,
for that is what love requires.
If we are truly loving
then we are making a way
for other people
to achieve their perfection in God.
We can't achieve it
if we are envious of them,
for Envy denies the perfection
of other people.
It begrudges their perfection.
It even seeks revenge
in order to redress the balance
in their favour.
[PAUSE]
We should not be speculating
about who is in Heaven,
or who is in Hell.
We need to be worrying
about our own relationship with God,
and looking around and seeing
if there is any good that
we can do
to help someone else
achieve their perfection in Almighty God.
The first workers do not love
the last workers.
If they did,
they would rejoice in the fact
that the last workers
get the same amount of pay.
That would be a cause
for joy and celebration,
because it is good.
God's goodness should always be
an occasion of rejoicing,
of praising,
of thanking
and of worshipping
the Great Giver of life Himself.
[PAUSE]
We can see how envy
does make the eye evil.
It makes us look at everything
in terms of our own good,
our own rate of measurement
and not the goodness of God.
We need to put aside our entitlements
and accept the circumstances
that God gives us.
For,
rich or poor,
better or worse,
in sickness or in health
we can be sure that
by learning humility
we will be richer than
we could ever possibly imagine in Christ.
And Lent is a good time
to examine what we believe
what we are entitled to
and looking for the
Truth behind it.
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