A Day's Wages

Matthew 20:8 - And when those hired at the eleventh hour (literally: those of about the eleventh hour) came, they each received a denarius.

A denarius, as I probably said, was the usual daily wage for working 12 hours - from dawn to dusk-ish. Imagine being one of those workers! They had hit the jackpot. These day laborers - all of them in line - were people so poor they had no land of their own. The Levitical Law spelled out how Israel was to care for the poor people among them. At the end of seven years, everyone was to get their ancestral land back. No one was to go hungry - farmers were required to leave the edges of their fields unharvested so people with no land could have food. It's hard to say whether these laws were followed or enforced (probably not for long). In any case, those laws were irrelevant because the Roman Empire had stolen the land. It's not inconceivable that these day laborers had been better off before. It's not a certainty, but it's not inconceivable.

Back to getting paid. Keep in mind this payment process was done in full view of all the day laborers and the guards who kept watch over the money. The workers were given actual coins. Everyone would see how much each person was getting. They could see the joy and surprise on the faces of the eleventh hour workers. Imagine being a worker hired first. What would we think about our own wages for the day? I don't like to admit that I'd begin making plans for the extra money. Because that's how I am - a little greedy. Yet, I am solidly middle-class. Their dreams for that extra money would include paying back creditors and feeding their children a more nourishing meal than usual. They were not thinking of luxuries, but survival.

So the question becomes how I relate to these laborers. Am I sympathetic? Am I one of them? If I thought I was going to get a little extra money, how would I want to spend it? For myself? My family? My possessions - maintaining my house? For others who are struggling? We all have reasons for how we spend our money. It's always a good time to reflect on our relationship to money and our reasons for spending it as we do. Not to mention, being grateful for what we do have. Because so many others have less.
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