Christmas: The Last Will Be First

Whether one believes in the recognition of a religious event or dogma during December, it’s impossible to remove Christ from this season. Like it or not, Christmas approaches. Thus, I risk a post, not on the birth of Jesus, but on something he taught about the workplace.

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 20, verses 1-16, Jesus tells one of his perplexing, if not inscrutable, parables. An employer sought day laborers for a 12-hour shift. He hired a few and agreed to pay them a specific amount. Later, he hired a few more, agreeing to pay them “whatever is right.” Three more times that day, he sought and hired laborers. Accordingly, some worked 12 hours, some 10, some six, some four, and some one.

At the end of the day, the employer paid all workers the same thing. Not surprisingly, those who had worked a full day complained. Union organization was surely imminent.

The employer responded by arguing he wasn’t being unfair to the all-day workers, because he paid them what they had agreed upon. As to other workers, he could pay them as he pleased. No worker should object to the employer’s generosity to coworkers. “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Well, perhaps in the kingdom of heaven, but not in a land governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The interpretations of this parable vary widely. A decade that created a chasm between the scions of wealth and the children of scarcity so enormous that Evel Knievel wouldn’t have tried jumping it during his most daring days informs my interpretation. Instead of tying what employees make to fairness, production, worth, and success, an employer should introduce a measure of grace into the workplace that focuses more on equality than cutthroat competition.  

The last being first sounds heretical, but isn’t it akin to a rising tide lifts all boats?

Merry Christmas.