Unmet expectations

I was reading the Parable of the Vineyard Workers the other day and although I have read this story a lot of times, something struck me differently which I hadn’t observed before…

A bit of background, a landowner went out early to hire workers for his vineyard. The workers who started working early in the morning agreed to a denarius (equal to a day’s wage). At the time of agreeing, this amount was more than fair. Other workers were subsequently hired to work on the vineyard at 9am then some at noon, 3pm and finally 5pm . What gets me in this story is the following verse:

10 So when the first ones came, they assumed they would get more, but they also received a denarius each.
Matthew 20:10 CSB

The workers (aka those who were hired first in the early hours of the day) assumed they would get more. Now what ever made them think they deserved more especially when they had agreed to receive a denarius for their work?🤷🏽‍♀️🤔. Their reason:

12 ‘These last men put in one hour, and you made them equal to us who bore the burden of the day’s work and the burning heat.’
Matthew 20:12 CSB

In all fairness, this was a legit statement. They were probably thinking, “well if we have worked the whole day and others are just doing an hour, the landowner could have considered paying a bit more right?” In their minds, I guess that was a fair and accurate assessment of the situation.

Isn’t it just like us when God calls us to do something. At first, we are excited about it, clearly content in the assignment and purpose until…our eyes start to wonder and become fixated on what someone else is doing? All of a sudden, our expectations have changed and our vision and values have now misaligned with what God intended. Eventually the portion that has been allocated to you is no longer good enough. Discontentment starts to creep in and you have now moved into bitterness and possibly jealousy.

I want to remind you that:

• the portion God has allocated to you to fulfil his purpose is enough.
• the gift and talents you have are right for YOU
• You are ENOUGH

I want us to be challenged and get ourselves out of comparison. It only robs us of purpose and that is not what God intended for our lives. God wants us to live a purposeful and enriched life.

God loves you and so do I ❤.