Class warfare has been a part of the world since it began. Governments have been built, men have died, injustice has taken place and people have been oppressed over this issue. The United States was founded on the biblical principle that God is no respecter of persons, therefore we stand equal in the sight of God. It was the breaking away from the tyrannical rule of aristocracy that gave people the freedom to grow, explore, invent and have the financial liberty to pursue their dreams.
This week I listened to the media address a candidates willingness to go on to the end. Not because he had the support of the American people, but because he had money. Candidates have also jumped on to this band wagon in attack of another. In order to help you better understand this issue and assist you in your 2008 decision process, I would like to share a story from the book of Mathew.
Jesus tells a story of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. For those who are not a Christian or unaware of the term, it is God’s way of operation. Mathew 20:1-16 tells the story of a land owner with a vineyard. It was time for harvest, so he went out and hired workers for the field. He offered each man a penny a day (2000 years ago), which they agreed. A couple of hours later he hired a few more men at a penny a day. In the last hour the land owner hired more workers at the same pay.
When the work was done he brought them all together and payed the last workers first and the first hired last. Now when the first hired came forward they were expecting to get paid more then those hired at the end. “Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.
He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’ ” Mathew 20:11-15 (NLT)
It is easy to look at the story from the workers point of view, who deserves more. How unfair of the land owner many would say. The workers need more rights to protect their seniority. Some would go as far as voting for a president that stands up for the middle class. A president that would punish the land owners for being “kind to some” but not to others. Let me remind you that the workers were not misled in their pay. The land owner kept his agreement willingly. Yet if we see ourselves from the view of the worker, it will be easy to become angry as well.
Now lets look at the story from the perspective it was written, the land owner. Here is a man who had the right to own this vineyard. He needed help, so he went and found some workers who according to the scripture were standing around doing nothing (verse 3). Most likely waiting to get hired. The land owner offered them the usual pay for this type of work. At several different point of the day he went and provided opportunity to increase their income. Everyone eagerly agreed. At the end of the day, the land owner kept his word to all the hirelings. The owner did what everyone has an opportunity to do, create jobs, hire (not force) employees and spend his money where he wishes.
Would it have not been more unjust to sell the land, not provide jobs and unemployment would have continued for the day. This is the spirit behind what made our nation great. Don’t use the scripture to make yourself the victim and demand that you are owed something. Instead make decisions that will allow more people to be land owners, business owners and negotiate their salaries not entangled with the bureaucracy of victimization. Make the paradigm shift so your children do not have to live in a world of trust in a government, but trust in God, so we can be responsible for our own lives. Proverbs 13:22, “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children.”
Consider this when you are making your voting decisions. Don’t vote by class, money positon or injustice. Vote for a minimized government that clears the burocracy of man so that we as a people have the freedom to grow and continue in making our future generations bright. This will allow us to continue to be the most generous nation on the earth.
Filed under: Class Warfare | Tagged: 2008, Conservatives, evangelicals, primaries, socialism
