Day Nineteen- An Attitude Of Gratitude

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’  So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.  So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.  When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?  Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’” Matthew 20:1-15
 
Working behind the scenes can be tough, especially when you are the person in charge of leading a ministry. I often work behind the scenes to organize and make sure the ministry program we are putting on actually happens. Since I'm a detailed person, I normally take care of all the intricate details. But sometimes when I work with someone and they are not as detailed as I am sometimes important details fall through the cracks, or worse that person takes credit for the work I have done.  That causes me to get frustrated about small matters and I forget whom I am working for. My complaining overshadows the glory God gets from doing the program in the first place.
That 's what the workers were complaining about in this parable. The workers who began at the beginning of the day wee working tirelessly to make sure all the work was done and done well. The other workers who did not have to work as long, in a sense are getting the same credit (in this case the credit is money) as the workers who worked for longer time.
 
I, like these workers, struggled with this. When God gives me a task and I complete it and someone else doesn't do as good a job as I think I have done, I tap my foot in disgust, secretly muttering myself about how unfair God is to me.
For me to grow to spiritual maturity, I have to increase my humility and stop worrying about everyone else's rewards. Easier said than done. but I do believe if I switch my attitude from one of ingratitude to one of thankfulness for Gods provision, God will reward me with the humility I need to mature.
 
What about you? Do you silently compare your rewards to everyone else, or do you approach God with an attitude of gratitude, in humble adoration for his willingness to bless you with His provision?