Sunday: Employment in the Kingdom of Heaven guest post T.W.

Employment in the Kingdom of Heaven

With unemployment rates being at a record high right now, there are a lot of people out there looking for work. Today, I would like to give you a reference letter to my Employer, and perhaps you will consider putting in your application: a) You don't need any formal education, b) He will actual give you clothes of righteous to wear, c) You can work from home, d) you will need to go to a meeting from time to time, and e) the pay is excellent, a Penny a Day. f) there are always openings, g) It has a no discrimination policy, h) the qualifications are the same for everyone, you just have to be willing to give up sin. i) The age thing is not an issue, though the Lord would prefer that men would come into His Kingdom, early in life; if it so happens that a man comes in later, j) every man will receive the same pay, "A Penny a Day"

The Scripture reference is found in St. Matthew 20: 1-16. We will not quote every verse for you, but please read them at your leisure.

St. Matthew 10: 1 -2

1. "For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.
2. "And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard."

Wouldn't you agree that the Lord is very kine on the concept of Employer/ Employee Relationship. In this chapter, you will immediately see the principle of working to gain something. So very early in the negotiations, you see the Word of God establishing several principles: a) Which company is hiring, b) salary, c) Discrimination policy, d) Contract.

a) Which Company is hiring: Principle "A" let's you know which Company is doing the hiring. That is "the Kingdom of Heaven".

The Lord in His wisdom makes a comparison here to a "Householder" or to "Business Owner" who rose up early in the morning and went out looking for workers. Most people who are seriously looking for work, make themselves available, early in the day. The principle here, in my understanding, is that this early in the day, has to do with early in your life, i.e. while you are still young. But you will see in this Scripture, that this Householder goes out several times a day, and thus gave numerous types of people an opportunity to work for Him.

b) Salary: Again, very early in the negotiations, the boss lets potential employees know how much the person would be offered in return for his/her labor. Most of the time, we go out looking for work, and way down in the negotiations, we ourselves have to ask the employer, "So, how much does the job pay?" God is not like that, He deals with this question right up front. He offers all employees the same "A Penny A Day."

c) Discrimination: There was no discrimination: If a person agreed to go "into the vineyard", it didn't matter "what type of work he/she agreed to do, the person would receive the 'same' pay as everyone else. "A penny a day".

d) Contract: The employer and the employee established a contract. Very important. Look at this, verse 2

St. Matthew 20:2 "And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard."

So this group of people now had a job. They have no doubt discussed with the boss what each one would be doing in the vineyard, or place of work. It had already been established that these people are "laborers". The boss is not looking for someone to fill the President or Vice President's position. These people will no doubt, do manual labor. In the Kingdom of Heaven, we are all laborers. There is only one President, and the Angels have already filled the Vice President's position as well, so we are all laborers. Though many try to get into the Kingdom of Heaven and enter at a higher position, they are still just laborers. And that's plenty high in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The pay: "A Penny a Day": Again, let's look at the pay. It was described as "a penny a day". So everyday, the person would receive a penny. There would be some reward everyday. That is the way it is in the Kingdom of Heaven. Some days, it is very difficult to sense that you have gain something, but truly you have. And as you look down through the Scripture, of
St. Matthew 20: 1- 16, you will see that the Householder went out several times and hired laborers, and each and every time, he offered them "a penny a day", no matter what time they begin work, and no matter what job they did. I would like to offer to you, this concept: The Penny a Day is the Gift of Eternal Life! Isn't that exciting!

Conclusion: If you are still hanging around in the market place looking for work, I would like to refer you to my Company.
a) You don't need any formal education, b) He will actual give you clothes of righteous to wear, c) You can work from home, d) you will need to go to a meeting from time to time, and e) the pay is excellent, a Penny a Day. f) there are always openings, g) It has a no discrimination policy, h) the qualifications are the same for everyone, you just have to be willing to give up sin. i) The age thing is not an issue, though the Lord would prefer that men would come into His Kingdom, early in life; if it so happens that a man comes in later, j) every man will receive the same pay, "A Penny a Day" which is "the Gift of Eternal Life".

Pastor T.W.