1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
2 And after agreeing with the workers for the standard wage, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 When it was about nine o'clock in the morning, he went out again and saw others standing around in the marketplace without work.
4 He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too, and I will give you whatever is right.'
5 So they went. When he went out again about noon and three o'clock that afternoon, he did the same thing.
6 And about five o'clock that afternoon he went out and found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why are you standing here all day without work?'
7 They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go and work in the vineyard too.'
8 When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the workers and give the pay starting with the last hired until the first.'
9 When those hired about five o'clock came, each received a full day's pay.
10 And when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each one also received the standard wage.
11 When they received it, they began to complain against the landowner,
12 saying, 'These last fellows worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the hardship and burning heat of the day.'
13 And the landowner replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am not treating you unfairly. Didn't you agree with me to work for the standard wage?
14 Take what is yours and go. I want to give to this last man the same as I gave to you.
15 Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
16 So the last will be first, and the first last."
Is God fair? Or generous? Which part do you prefer? If you think you are good and deserve good compensation, you want your God to be fair to all. Also, you will be upset when God is generous to others. If you think that you aren’t qualified for God’s work so you don’t deserve any reward, you like your God to be generous. Those who came early thought they deserve more than others. God knows our hearts’ motives. Sometimes, God treats us fairly by giving us just much as we deserve. Sometimes, He gives us generously more than we want. All He does are good have reasons.
As you work for Jesus, focus on to know more about Him, not on the rewards. Otherwise, you will lose Jesus while keeping your reward. So the last will be first, and the first last.
