Made Equal to Us
"“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.’ The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘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.’ But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’”"
— Matthew 20:8-15
Many churches read this story today. When evening comes, the vineyard owner has the workers paid, starting with those hired last. They worked about an hour, and each one gets a denarius, a full day's wage. The men hired first expect more, but they also get one denarius each. They grumble that he has made the latecomers equal to them, and he does not deny that they worked longer. He answers one of them that he is not being unfair, because they agreed on a denarius. What he gives the last man is his own to give. Then he asks if the man is envious because he is generous. Nothing was taken from the first workers, and their complaint grows out of comparing themselves with the last. Jesus opens this story with the kingdom of heaven, so the owner most likely stands for God. If so, God's goodness to one person takes nothing from another.