When I lived in Burke Hall, I dabbled with the idea of playing rugby or la crosse, and eventually decided on the latter. But that is a story for another day. I will instead tell a story of institute.
For those of you who don't know, institute is a form of Gospel Study designed for young adults in the Church. We study doctrine and gospel teachings at the home of our teacher on Thursday nights. Now I am using the term "we" somewhat loosely because, thus fa, I have been the only one to attend class with our teacher (excepting her husband and daughter). It is very sad because she does have so much to teach, so much to offer, and a unique perspective on the material within the lessons. It is kinda cool as well because once the lesson is over I get to just hang out with the family and talk with them about life, my upcoming departure, school, work, kids, etc.
This past week, the lesson was on Matthew 20. I did not recognize the scriptural reference off the top of my head, either, so I have included a link to my favorite set of online scripture. The passage speaks of a master of a vineyard who, through out the day, hires workers, who work hours between 1) the whole day (6am-6pm), 2)portions there of (9-6, 12-6, 3-6), and finally 3) those hired in the 11th Hour (5-6). At the end of the day, every laborer is paid an equal amount. Those hired first claim that this is unfair, that those who worked far less than they should be paid an equal share.
The main point of this parable is that no matter when the master of the vineyard comes to you, no matter when you come unto him, you will be rewarded in full. I find another valuable lesson in this.
When the master of the vineyard announced that every laborer would be paid in full, there was a bickering among those that had worked the fullness of the day, but had received wages equal of those who had worked as few as a single hour thereof. The master told them that the wage had been agreed upon before hand, and that there is no unfairness in his dealings, yet there is still anger among many of the laborers. Now, it is no business of the first laborer what the master does with his money, so long as his agreement is fulfilled. It is not up to the laborer to claim what is just and fair. The laborer must accept that by being paid, the master had done his part, and all that is left for him to do is be thankful.
Far too often we absorb ourselves with the goings on of others lives. We spend hours of our days surfing the web to get the latest scoop on celebrity gossip, or pay $8 an issue to learn the juicy details of a recent arrest, love tryst, marital argument, or drunken escapade. We then complain about how these people get the breaks, earn 75K per episode for acting like idiots on network TV, or earn multi-million dollar contracts top play a game.
It is not our place to point the judging finger, but we all take the opportunity to thrust it in others directions from time to time. If we want to act in movies, or marry royalty, or play at Wrigley Field/Lambeau Field/Yankee Stadium/The Mercedes-Benz Superdome/Fenway Park/(Insert your favorite sports complex here), then you had an opportunity. Yes, some people got the break of meeting Prince Henry, or not blowing out a knee in the midst of a great senior season, or having parents that have the political clout to get you in touch with talent scouts (even you have no semblance of talent whatsoever (REBECCA BLACK!!!)), but it is still your life.
It is up to you whether or not you are happy. I still want to play for the Pack on Sundays (although I would prefer it if all of our games were scheduled for Monday and Thursday night). If I worked uber hard, I might still be able to pull it off by the time I'm 29 years old (Brandon Weeden). But the truth is, I do not have the drive to do that. So it is, therefore, my fault that I am not playing football. And I can live with that.
We can only do as much as we can. After that, it is up to us to accept that we have been given the payments of our labors. Don't worry about the other guy/gal. Just worry about yourself.
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