“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, “You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.” So they went off. [And] he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” They answered, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You too go into my vineyard.” When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.” When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.” He said to one of them in reply, “My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?” (Matthew 20:1-14)
How can this passage help reflect on the relationship between work, sufficient wages and human dignity?
This
example in the Bible actually has a lot of interpretations. But with regards to
work, sufficient wages, and human dignity, this gives us an understanding that
each person must be treated equally in every aspect and even when it comes to
work and wages. This doesn't mean, however, that a person working longer will
always have to receive the same amount of wages as the one working for a very
short period of time, because this passage would more likely fit to the
interpretation of salvation or going to the kingdom of heaven. But when we look
at its main point, it seems to be referring to the sovereign graciousness and
generosity of God extended to latecomers or the poor and the outcasts of
society. And when we connect this passage to work, wages, and human dignity, it
shows us how God would treat every human beings when it comes to these aspects
and how He would want us to act as well.
In the
passage, the landowner was the one who kept on looking for people who were
merely standing around doing nothing, and gave them work, and to be fair, he
even gave them equal wages. In the same way, as human beings, we must also care
for other people. If we can give them jobs, then why not let them work? If we
can give them just wages, then we must give them the right wages because doing
otherwise would mean disobedience from what God would want us to do, and
disobedience from labor laws. Above all, our dignity gives us the right to
become worthy of respect and honor, thus, we have the right to a decent job and
the right to a just wage. Lastly, the passage gave us a reminder not to grumble
nor become jealous of others, but learn to be grateful and thankful in
everything we receive, because not everyone receives something.
Why does every person have a right to decent work?
Because
we all have dignity, aside from the fact that it is our basic right. This
dignity meant to give us the right to become worthy of respect and honor, as I
have already said previously. So this dignity means that our work should be
something that would make us worthy of respect and honor from other people too
and something that will not ruin this dignity that we have or our image to the
society. It is our basic right as well to attain a decent work, no matter what
kind of work it would be, as long as it is a good and noble one. This is also
how God would want us to work, He wants us to become the humans He deems us to
become, because He made us in His own likeness and we are His children. The
question now would be, whether a person chooses to exercise this right or not.
Because while it is true that we all have a right to a decent work, rights are
something that we can all choose to exercise or not. This means that, we still
get to decide whether or not to get a decent job. Because from what I can see,
some people would choose to earn easy but dirty money. Something that can ruin
their dignity but makes it hard to earn back--or at least, in today's society.
I cannot judge other people who are doing these things, however, we must
remember that rights weren't given for no reason. Every right is essential to
our lives, so we must think carefully before deciding to abandon these rights.
