We sinners are very susceptible to a reward-centered understanding of our relationship to God. Tit for tat. I do this; then you better do that. But this is very juvenile, very primitive. We’ve been invited to work in the vineyard of the Lord. That is the greatest privilege imaginable, to participate in the Lord’s work. Why are we fussing about rewards?  And how liberating this is! I don’t have to spend my life worrying and comparing. I can live.

This is just one of the freedoms we can achieve with God.  No longer comparing paychecks, families, cars, homes, land, clothing, jewelry, vacation, or even how well one speaks compared to another!  We never ask again, “Well, what’s in it for me?” or agonizing over “I did this, shouldn’t he do that?”

Who cares, when we are working side by side for the Lord.  It’s so easy to understand, and yet, so hard to  maintain due to pressures of society and our own sinful nature.  Jesus liberates us from pettiness if we listen and truly understand the freedom He offers each of us.  We all have a personal capacity to do our share allotted to us.