"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 the eleventh hour 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 men 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, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man 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?' "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." -Matthew 20: 8-16

This, in my opinion, is one of the top 5 most powerful parables in the Bible. Many would disagree with me in favor of some of the more popular of Jesus' teachings. Regardless of where it falls on your list of favorites, it has some very important things to say.

Have any of you ever seen a death-bed conversion to Christianity? Have you ever seen a man in his 90's, after a life of sin and revelry, accept Jesus as his Lord and Saviour? What about a man walking on his way to be executed for murdering several people? Maybe you have. Maybe not.

The more important questions are these: Are they just as saved as you? Does God regard them the same as He regards us? Do they deserve to be counted among the long suffering and laboring faithful? Be honest. This is a toughy. You don't like it, but of course, the answer to those questions is yes.

Our human, fleshly desire for justice boils to the surface more often than we would like to admit. We keep count. We keep score. We keep a close watch. We keep our distance. Yet, Jesus illustrates that all of us receive the same pay at the end of the day. We all, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, receive eternal relationship with God. That is the both the clearest and most curious of all Bible truths. No matter who you were, what you did or when you did it, you are now white as snow; and welcome at the table of God regardless of what season in life you came to believe.

This parable also points us toward how we view ministry. Have you ever told someone they couldn't or shouldn't serve in ministry because they haven't been a Christian long enough or because they were too young? (This is the point where people begin to stiffen and get all bristly.)

If you have, just ask yourself why? Why did you advise against it? What was the actual motivation behind your advice? Was it out of lovingkindness or genuine desire for the proper spiritual development of the disciple? Or was it something else?

Look, we don't have any right, whatsoever, to interfere with God's anointing on another Brother or Sister. None. We are workers in the same field. God is the boss, not us. As thoughtful mentors and teachers, we can help someone fulfill what they've been called to do and, yes, sometimes that involves us lovingly advising them at times. However, they have just as much claim to minister to the world as we do.

This parable, like so many others, has multiple meanings and textures. But one thing stands out loud and clear. The field doesn't belong to us. It's God's field that we work in. Gods field--God's rules. Why do we think that we can start making up rules just because we've been in the field longer than others? Think about it.
And for those of you who, because of your inexperience, have been refused, shunned, restricted, stifled or controlled, ponder these two scriptures and reconcile them to eachother. Therin, you will find the correct posture to maintain for the beginning of your ministerial journey.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity --1 Timothy 4:12

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." --1 Peter 5:5

For all of us who believe, the wage of our belief is the same; eternal life with the Father as royal children. Just as certain, is the wage due to all who carry unredeemed sin: death. Let's not complain about what our redeemed Brothers and Sisters in the field deserve or not. That's not our job.

-T. Michael Cart