Well, I hope you guys all had an awesome Thanksgiving! This week we finished up our STUFFed series talking about selfishness and jealousy!In Matthew 20:1-15 Jesus tells a story about the kingdom of heaven. He said that the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire some people to work in his field. He found some men, told them that he would pay them about $20 for the day and sent them to go work in his field.
Three hours later the landowner went back to the marketplace and saw more men that were looking for work. He told them to go work in his field, too, and he would pay them whatever was right. So they went.
He did this every three hours, finding more men to go work his field. About the eleventh hour of the day, he went out one last time and found more people looking for work, so he sent them to work in his field as well!
When evening came the landowner told the man who ran his field to call all of the workers together and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired, going on down to the first ones hired.
When they all came together, the man who ran the fields paid all of the men the same amount of money. This really upset the men who had been there the whole day because they had worked longer and harder, so they expected to receive more than the men who had only worked an hour!
When they received their pay they began to complain to the landowner.
The landowner said, “Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for the pay that you received? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same amount that I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you jealous because I am generous?”
Wow! Isn’t it amazing how the man’s jealousy of others took his focus off of what he had right in his own hands? He received the money that he agreed to work for but he was so mad, because of jealousy, that he wanted more than the others.
Jealousy will completely destroy a thankful attitude!
Memory Verse: "Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Tune in next week for our brand new series The Grinch!
