Are we grateful for what we have?

BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE

Mt. 20: 1-16

Life is so unfair!  How often have we heard that remark, or made it ourselves?  Everyone is trying to make a living in the world but for some it seems effortless, while for others it is extremely difficult.  One person finds a lucrative job, another, equally well qualified, is rejected.   Some people receive huge salaries for their work, others are so badly paid that they would be better off on state benefit.   No, life in this imperfect world is certainly not fair, but perhaps we make things more uncomfortable for ourselves if we indulge in the sin of envy. 

In today’s Gospel there was a good deal of envy towards the employees who had done the least work but were being paid the same as the rest.   Envy seems to play a large part in our lives today.  Society’s heroes are the wealthy celebrities whose lifestyle we are encouraged to envy. Advertising companies play on our envious instincts in order to promote their products.   The advertisements show us the perfect house, the most beautiful furniture, the most fashionable clothes, even the cleanest washing.  We are prompted to look at our own surroundings and feel envious of that ideal home.  The power of advertising can make people feel discontented.  They long to have the expensive things that everyone else seems to be enjoying and they will often incur huge debts in an attempt to acquire them.   Parents will work longer and longer hours in order to buy the things their children are demanding.  The results of all this are stress, frustration, depression, a sense of failure.  No wonder envy is known as one of the deadly sins – it has a deadening effect on people’s spirits.  

If only we could learn to be happy with what we have.  If your home is comfortable and clean, be proud of it.   Your friends will visit you for the welcome you give them, not for the luxurious curtains at the window.  If you have healthy, loving children, be glad, thank God for them, and appreciate the time you spend together.  Don’t worry about dressing them in designer jeans and trainers.  If you have a skill or talent, thank God for that, too, and don’t be envious of those who have different talents.   We might cope better with life’s inequalities if we could keep the green-eyed monster at bay.

The workers in the vineyard were squabbling about their rights.  Those who had worked all day thought they were entitled to more money than those who had only turned up for the last hour.  In the end, they had to accept that the landowner had kept his promise to them and they had no right to ask for more or to question his generosity.  I wonder whether some people think they have a right to heaven?   Jesus tells us in this parable that we are totally dependent on God’s goodness.  Our efforts, whether great or small, will not earn us a place in heaven; it is only God’s grace, freely given, that will enable us to get there.

Today, it might be a good idea to reflect on all that God has done for us.  There is really nothing we can do for Him, because everything we possess has been given to us by Him.  He doesn’t need us, yet He loves us and wants us to be with Him.  He offers us eternal life even though we can do nothing to deserve it.  Because we are surrounded by evidence of God’s generosity, we may be tempted to take it all for granted.   If you had a rich uncle who always sent you a substantial birthday present you might come to expect it automatically every year.  You might become very casual in your attitude to him, hardly bothering to thank him for the gift. That would be very tragic and we should never treat God like that.

Lord Jesus, it is possible for us to develop that sort of attitude towards our heavenly Father.  May we never fail to thank Him often for all His goodness to us?

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