Perspective: The End of Entitlement

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The End of Entitlement

So the last will be first, and the first will be last.

Matthew 20:16 (NRSV)

Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

From "Who Am I?" by Casting Crowns

Jesus once told a story about a rich man who owned a vineyard.¹  One day, at six o'clock in the morning, the vineyard owner went to the marketplace and found some day laborers who agreed to work in his vineyard for a denarius, the typical daily wage for a worker.  He went back three hours later and hired more workers, agreeing to pay them "whatever is right."  He returned to the marketplace three more times that day - at noon, at three o'clock, and at five o'clock - hiring more and more workers to harvest grapes in his vineyard.

Scholar William Barclay notes that a Palestinian grape harvest could be a race against time.  Grapes would be ready to pick in late August, but the rainy season typically began in mid September, leaving a relatively small window of time to harvest the grapes.  Naturally, a vineyard owner would want to harvest his grapes as quickly as possible, and, the more workers he hired, the faster he could bring in his harvest.  It is not unrealistic that a vineyard owner would go out to hire harvesters throughout the day, as the man in Jesus' parable did.²

At six o'clock in the evening, the workday ended, and the time came for the workers to receive their wages.  Per the vineyard owner's instructions, the manager paid the workers, starting with those who were hired last and ending with those who were hired first.  When those who were hired one hour ago came forward, each was paid a denarius, as was everyone who was hired throughout the day.  When those who started working early in the morning came forward to receive their wages, they too received a denarius, the same amount paid to those who had worked just one hour.

As one might expect, those who were hired first were angry that they were being paid the same wages as those who were hired last.  After all, they had done twelve times as much work, so they were entitled to twelve times as much compensation.  They approached the vineyard owner and said, "These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat."

It seems to me that the vineyard owner could have avoided this whole confrontation had he just paid the workers in the same order in which he hired them.  Those hired first could have received the wages for which they agreed to work and gone home, totally oblivious to the fact that those hired last would receive the same amount for doing only a small fraction of the work.  For some reason, the vineyard owner made it a point to pay first those he hired last.  It is almost as if he was trying to teach his workers something.

Of course, the parable would not be nearly as impactful without the confrontation.

The vineyard owner replied to one of the workers who confronted him,
Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?  Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.  Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?  Or are you envious because I am generous?
Contrary to what the first workers thought, the vineyard owner hadn't cheated anybody.  After all, he paid them the wage for which they agreed to work.  He was not unfair toward the workers he hired first: he was merely generous toward the workers he hired later.

What led the first workers to believe that they had been cheated was their sense of entitlement, their notion that they deserved more than the other workers because they worked longer.  Though humanity has built entire economic systems and legal codes on such an idea, perhaps it is all just one grand illusion.  Perhaps the vineyard owner wanted to deconstruct this illusion.

Reflecting on this parable has forced me to confront my own sense of entitlement.  St. Paul's exhortation to "rejoice with those who rejoice"³ can be difficult for me at times.  Whenever I see engagement pictures and pregnancy announcements on Facebook, I am reminded of how much further down the proverbial road almost everyone else my age seems to be.  I've been a good person, relatively speaking, so why can't I have what others have?  It is difficult for us to be happy for other people - or even just happy for ourselves - while we are harboring envy and bitterness.

Essayist Joseph Epstein once mused that "of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all."  It has also been suggested that "comparison is the thief of joy."  When we dwell on what we think we deserve in comparison to other people, we forget that everything good in life is a gift.  Even the opportunity to work and contribute to society in some capacity is a gift to be enjoyed.

On an episode of the television series Louie, the titular character, portrayed by comedian Louis C.K., is approached by his daughter Jane who complains that her sister Lilly was given a piece of mango and that she wasn't.  Louie says to her, "The only time you look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough.  You don't look in your neighbor's bowl... to make sure you have as much as them."⁴  To put this thought in more general terms, one should only concern oneself with what other people have to make sure that they have what they need, not to compare one's own lot in life with theirs.

Barclay notes that, in first century Palestine, day laborers lived a hard life.  Day by day, they would go to the village square and wait for someone to hire them, as they did in Jesus' parable.  They often lived hand to mouth, so whether or not their families ate depended on whether or not someone was willing to hire them.  There were even commandments in the Jewish Law that required employers to pay their workers at the end of day since they and their families depended on their wages.⁵  Some of the workers in Jesus' parable were having a bad day.  When the vineyard owner went to the marketplace one hour before quitting time, he asked the workers he met, "Why are you standing here idle all day?"  They replied, "Because no one has hired us."

As a man of means, the vineyard owner used his wealth - both his vineyard and his money - to help those in need.  He made sure that each of his workers, even the latest of the latecomers, went home with a living wage, and he afforded each of them the dignity of having worked for it, even if he only worked for an hour.  He wasn't interested in giving his workers what they deserved: he was only interested in giving them what they needed.  Also, he wasn't very concerned about what anyone thought about his decision.

Jesus bookended His parable with the revelation that, in the Kingdom of God, "the last will be first, and the first will be last."⁶  This statement is often understood to be a great reversal, but I wonder if it is really more of a great equalizing.  Perhaps those who think they are entitled to be first will feel that they have been demoted, while those who are accustomed to being last will feel that they have been promoted.  In reality, they all will have become equals.  I have heard it suggested that "the first will be last" and "the last will be first" because everyone will be standing in a circle and not in a line.

Shortly before telling this parable, Jesus was approached by a rich man who asked Him, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"⁷  As a man of wealth, he was accustomed to being able to obtain for himself anything he ever wanted.  Perhaps he thought that "eternal life" was one more thing he could buy for himself.  Furthermore, because he was rich, he had the means to do certain "good deeds" that might not be feasible for others.  For example, a wealthy churchgoer can fund a fellowship hall and get her name above the door, but a vast majority of the people who sit in pews every Sunday do not have buildings named after them.

Jesus replied to the rich man, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."⁸  Jesus assigned the rich man a "good deed" that would have effectively stripped him of all of his advantages in society, making him no different from anybody else.  Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."⁹

Some speculate that when Jesus spoke of "the eye of a needle," He might have been referring to a particularly narrow city gate that was used primarily when the main gate was closed for the night.  If someone wanted to negotiate his camel through the gate, he would first need to unload its baggage.  To experience the kind of life to which Jesus invites us, we will likely need to unload some things, spiritually speaking.¹⁰  Perhaps it is difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God because people typically aren't very eager to give up any privileges they have.

Perhaps our sense of entitlement is something else we need to unload if we want to live as citizens of the Kingdom of God.  If Jesus is right, that the Kingdom of God is like a vineyard owner who cares more about what his workers need than what they deserve, then we will need to leave our entitlement at the door.  Our God is not fair: our God is gracious.  Thanks be to God.


Notes:

1. A majority of this blog post is based on the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, found in Matthew 20:1-15.  Quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version.
2. William Barclay.  The Parables of Jesus.  1990, Westminster John Knox Press.  p. 162
3. Romans 12:15a (CEB)
4. "Pregnant."  Louie.  FX.  06/23/2011.  Television.
5. Barclay, pp. 162, 164
6. Matthew 19:30; 20:16
7. Matthew 19:16 (NRSV)
8. Matthew 19:21 (NRSV)
9. Matthew 19:24-25 (NRSV)
10. Kent Dobson.  Bitten by a Camel: Leaving Church, Finding God.  2017, Fortress Press.  pp. 35-36

The photograph of the grapes was taken by Wikimedia Commons user Dragonflyir and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.