God is Just

"Are you envious because I am generous?"

Matthew 20:15

Bill is a handsome young man who topped the bar exams, owns a huge estate, two yatchs, lots of cars, and has a beautiful wife and handsome children. He also has a flourishing business with thousands of employees. He travels all over the world four to six times a year for his business, and twice a year for vacations with his family. 

But Bill is a scrooge when it comes to his employees. He is the epitome of a nice and loving man with his family, but the devil incarnate to his underlings. He never gives to the church, alms to the poor or a single cent to anyone who knocks at his door. He believes that he worked hard to have everything, and others should work hard, too. People who know him ask, "Why is he so blessed? Why is it that everything he touches turns into gold? Where is justice here?"

This is the same story of Jesus giving the same pay to the man who was hired first and the man hired last. And when questioned, Jesus replied, "Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?"

God is all-knowing and all-loving. He knows that the last will be the first and the first will be the last. 

By: Chelle Crisanto, Philippines (ellehcmaria@yahoo.com)

REFLECTION: The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions. (A.W. Tozer)