GOD VERSUS OUR CONTROLLING BEHAVIOUR

The parables of Jesus are never safe morality tales. In fact if we had to dream up the kind of parable Jesus would use, we simply wouldn’t come up with many of them. And the parable of the vineyard labourers in Matthew 20 is one of these.

 

A group of labourers on zero hours contracts are hanging round the town centre – in much the same way unprotected people do today in empty car parks or on the edge of roundabouts. People are hired at 9am, 12pm, 3pm and finally at 5pm. And then at the end of a long day, they are each paid the same wage, provoking a near riot by those who worked the longest hours and who expected more.

 

You know you’d feel the same. It offends our sense of justice. The world of work is finely calibrated. Every workplace has grades and bands, and to rise through these bands, you have to prove yourself over longer periods of time. Only then are you paid more. It’s in times of inflation that wage demands become more assertive, as people try to keep the value of their pay. But it’s never just that. People want to keep their pay differential with other forms of work: if that sector over there is getting 5%, we need nothing less than 5%, otherwise they’re starting to be paid more like us. We are very status-orientated people, despite our efforts to pretend otherwise.

 

Imagine trying to hire people today for the kind of job Jesus talked about. You can work full-time, part-time or just one day a week and we’ll pay you exactly the same amount. I wonder how many applicants we’d get for the full-time roles?

 

It’s not easy interpreting some of the parables of Jesus and no-one ever gets a full grip on them; that’s why Jesus told his stories this way; God cannot be summed up in a short story. We always root for the goodies, not the baddies, whereas Jesus is probably wanting a bit more honesty from us.

 

So here are three of my observations, knowing they only go so far.

 

You’ve probably come across the idea of controlling behaviour. Young children are full of it because they have little power compared with adults. So they try techniques to control those adults. You’ve probably noticed that some people never grow out of this and as adults still try it on in homes, workplaces and, let’s be honest, churches. At its worst, we find it in couples, where one person takes complete control over the other, denying them any freedom.

 

I have a feeling we also show controlling behaviour in our relationship with God because there is, after all, a big power differential and we are sometimes tempted to behave childishly. That’s not to say we can’t have a debate with God about some things. Several biblical characters bargained with God, like Abraham, who bartered God down in his judgment of a town. Jacob even wrestled with God until he got the blessing he was looking for. But they were persistent because they were asking for something they knew was in line with God’s character. Controlling behaviour is when we are persistent in asking for something because it’s in line with what we want. And we feel empowered because we are sure our values are right. That’s what the labourers were guilty of. They tried to control the owner of the vineyard and get him to act on their terms, not his – even though he had already agreed their wage when they went to work.

 

It’s much easier to spot controlling behaviour in others than to identify it in ourselves, but this can be worked on through prayer and the daily offering of our lives to God to fill with his Holy Spirit.

 

The second thing is to do with God’s generosity. When we find it hard to figure out one part of the Bible, we need to read it alongside other passages that shed some light. Right before this reading in Matthew 20, Jesus says that everyone who has made sacrifices for him ‘will receive a hundredfold’. Ten chapters earlier he says that ‘whoever gives a cup of cold water’ to another will get a reward. That’s a reassuringly low bar to cross.

 

Our whole culture is messed up, though, and we can think God owes us for the stuff we do because that’s how the workplace functions. But God’s grace is totally different. We are all so far short of God’s perfection, it’s laughable to think some of us deserve God’s generosity more than others. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s grace. Even the most sacrificial of lives cannot measure up to his love for us in the cross and resurrection. God comes to meet with us, redeems us, calls us by name and walks with us from this world into the next because that’s what he does. And only he can do it.

 

The final thing is about our response. The first labourers responded with the anger of a twenty year old John McEnroe after a dodgy line call. They were sullen and resentful at the unfairness of the outcome. This carries echoes of the parable of the prodigal son, as well. It’s fascinating how many people seem to identify with the dutiful, hardworking elder brother and not the profligate younger brother who is lovingly made the centre of attention. Perhaps that shows a risk in ministry, where we start to coast because everyone gets the same reward in the end, so why go the extra mile? And maybe the parable of the vineyard labourers highlights that risk.

 

The thing is, we have all been shown unbelievable, universe-busting levels of generosity by God. If God clocks a sparrow falling to the ground, do we really think he misses the stuff we do for him?

 

In a culture devoted to rewards, where the winners are encouraged to believe they win simply because of their own merit and the losers are told it’s their fault, we have a completely different story to share. One that turns the world on its head and calls it the kingdom of God instead.