Elementary Sunday Lesson

When it comes to seeing the world the way God wants us to, we need to put on grace glasses. This means we stop paying attention to everything in life that doesn’t seem fair and start seeing all the good things God gives us every day.

Jesus told the parable of the laborers in the vineyard to teach this point. One morning a man who owned a vineyard needed help harvesting grapes. So he hired some workers. They agreed to work the whole day in order to provide a day’s worth of food and shelter for their family (about a hundred dollars). Then a few hours later, the boss walked into town and saw some people who had nothing to do. Without work, their families would suffer. “Do you want some work? I’ll pay you whatever is right.” Off they went to the vineyard and started to work. The boss hired more workers later in the day—at noon, three, and five. It is strange that he would hire people so late in the day. Maybe his heart was more focused on helping them than on the help they could give him. When all the work was done, those who were hired last were paid first. They got a hundred dollars–enough to provide for their families! Those hired first thought to themselves, “If they got a hundred dollars for working just one hour, we should get a thousand.” But no, they received a hundred too. “Wait a minute,” theygrumbled. “We worked all day, and they only worked an hour. It’s not fair that they should get the same as us.” Maybe not, but the boss seemed more focused on making sure everyone got the money they needed to care for their families. So the boss replied, “It is fair. You agreed to work for a hundred dollars. If I decide to give the same to the other workers, why does my generosity upset you?”

Jesus ended the parable saying, “So the last will be first, and the first last” (Matt. 20:16). The point is this: if we put on the grace glasses, we will be glad when people who really don’t deserve grace get it (which includes all of us). The people who think they’ve earned God’s blessing will begrudge when others receive it, but those who know they don’t deserve God’s blessing will rejoice the most.