YEA Lesson Library

The Lesson

How would you like it if you worked for a full day and got paid the same as someone else who worked along with you for only one hour? Would you think it was unfair? But what if you had agreed to the salary before you even started? Would you still think your employer was unfair? What does the Bible teach about this?

In Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus told a story we call the “Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.” In His day a “denarius,” was the payment for a full day’s work. In the story, a wealthy landowner decided to hire workers to harvest his field. One morning he went out and hired several workers. They agreed to work for the going rate of a denarius for the entire day. The workers thought this was a fair price so they went to the vineyard and began harvesting the grapes.

A couple of hours later, the landowner saw some men standing around near the marketplace with nothing to do. He told them to go work in his vineyard and at the end of the day he would pay them what was fair. These men trusted his word and believed they would be paid fairly. They went to the vineyard to work, not even knowing exactly how much they would be paid.

The wealthy man did the same thing again at lunchtime, when the working day was already half over, and again at 3:00 in the afternoon. By 5 p.m. he had quite a number of people working in his vineyard. When he came across more men who were standing around with nothing to do, he asked them, “Why haven’t you been working today?” The men replied, “Because nobody hired us.” So he told them to go to his vineyard and he would pay them what was fair when the work was finished.

By the time the sun set and the work was through, there were several men to be paid. The owner of the vineyard asked his assistant to gather the men together so they could receive their wages. He instructed his assistant to pay the men who came at the end of the day first and the ones who came at the beginning of the
day last.


What do you think was going through the minds of the ones who had been working all day long when they saw the ones who came at 5 p.m. getting paid a denarius? What would you have thought? You might have thought the boss changed his mind and decided to pay everyone a denarius per hour instead of per day. But then how would you feel once that denarius was put into your hand and you realized that everyone was getting paid the same amount, regardless of how long they worked?

These workers who had been in the field all day complained to the landowner when they were only paid a denarius. They said, “Those fellows worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as those of us who worked all day in the scorching heat.”

The man answered, “Friend, I did you no wrong! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the price I offered? Take it and go. It is my desire to pay all the same; is it against the law to give away my money if I want to? Should you be angry because I am kind?”

Jesus was the one telling this story and He is the one who said the landowner was being kind. Why do you think He said this? Because the man was generous to those who didn’t get to work for the full day. They were willing to work, but nobody else would hire them. They needed the money as much as anyone and probably had families to feed.

Was the landowner cheating those who worked the full day? No, because they agreed on their wages even before they started working. So, why were the ones who worked all day angry?

Could they have been jealous that someone else got as much as they did? Everyone likes to think they are special, they have done the best job or that they have worked the hardest. These men were envious because the workers who came late and didn’t work as many hours as they did got paid the same.

“A relaxed attitude lengthens a man’s life; jealousy rots it away” (Proverbs 14:30 TLB). Think about that verse. Have you ever been envious of someone for winning a contest or a game? How did you feel when someone else went out with your girl friend or boy friend? Did you have a relaxed attitude about it or did you agonize over it until it almost made you sick? What can you do about it? Philippians 2:3 says “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves”(NIV). It may not be that you think too little of the other person, but you may think too highly of yourself. That’s where humility comes in. Envy not only hurts the one who is feeling it by poisoning their heart and attitude, it also has the power to kill! As a matter of fact, it was envy that killed Jesus.

In Matthew 27:18 we are told that Pilate knew the Jewish leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy because of His popularity with the people. Envy was one of the reasons Jesus was killed.

God is kind and wants to bless His people. He doesn’t want anyone to be covetous or envious or jealous. These emotions can hurt you. Unchecked bitterness and resentment can consume you. God is willing and ready to help you overcome envy and to be kind as He is kind. Are you ready to let Him?