8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ 9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. 11 And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ 13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? (Matthew 20)
Agriculture now is far different than it was centuries ago, but some things still hold true. Good farmers help one another. So when the landowner here responds to the complaints of those who had worked the whole day, he truly says "friend", speaking to them as one. For those of us who like to complain, when we find ourselves complaining to friends about life and its problems, and try to blame others, it should dawn on them and us that someday those very people we complain to will be those whom we complain about. We like to complain. And we rarely have reason to. Jesus point is that we should stop comparing, which leads to complaining. The landowner was just in what he did. Even more so, God is just in what He does. What are we always complaining about our lot in life? Good friends don't complain; they comfort one another.
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