Are You Envious Because I Am Generous?

13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

16"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." - Matthew 20:16

Not much to say this morning or much to say it, but this question hits me this morning. "Are you envious because I am generous?"

Sometimes we do believe that we "deserve" things, because that's the way the world works. You present at conferences and make posters and get good grades, and you "deserve" to get into that perfect grad program. But... imagine the admissions director saying to someone else... well, you pulled straight C's and you never presented a thing, always doing the bare minimum, but now you promise to change. So, ok... you're in.

What? Are you kidding me???

Did I do all that work for nothing??? - Our hearts want to cry out... "It's not fair!"

The key is to see and appreciate God's generosity and to challenge ourselves to be like him... as open and loving and caring and generous and nonjudgmental as He is with all of His children. We love, because He first loved us. And in that love, we have the example of the perfect agape love that we must model for others.