Poison of the Sidelong Glance
Matthew 20:1-16
Preached on November 13, 2011
Matthew
20:1-16 ESV "For the kingdom of
heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire
laborers for his vineyard. (2) After agreeing with the laborers for a
denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
(3) And going out about the third
hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, (4)
and to them he said, 'You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is
right I will give you.' (5) So they went. Going out again about the sixth
hour and the ninth hour, he did the same.
(6) And about the eleventh hour
he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, 'Why do you stand
here idle all day?' (7) They said to him, 'Because no one has hired
us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' (8)
And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the
first.' (9) And when those hired about the eleventh hour
came, each of them received a denarius.
(10) Now when those hired first
came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a
denarius. (11) And on receiving it they grumbled at the
master of the house, (12) saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and
you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the
scorching heat.' (13) But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am
doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? (14)
Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as
I give to you. (15) Am I not allowed to do what I choose with
what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' (16)
So the last will be first, and the first last."
INTRODUCTION
Lest I be guilty of plagiarism, I want to give
credit to Ben Merkle for this direction of this sermon. I heard a sermon with
this same title and it impacted me and I wanted it to impact you but through my
voice and heart and mind. So here goes. What is good here is probably from him
through the grace of God and the work of the Spirit.
Lets
read the story. Matthew 20:1-16
Summary
of the story
We
have a vineyard owner who hires laborers at the beginning of the day with the
contract of 1 denarius.
At
the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 11th hour he
hired more laborers with the contract that he would pay them what was right.
(Note:
the hours probably relate to daylight hours)
At
the end of the day he gathers the laborers to pay them and he pays them in
order of last to first.
He
pays the late-comers one denarius leading the original laborers to assume that
they would get more than their agreed contract – one denarius.
When
they receive one denarius they grumbled and complained to the master of the
vineyard, comparing their hard work to the work of the others.
The
master asks how he is doing them wrong and why they are begrudging his
generosity to others.
In
this story we see the poison of the sidelong glance.
The Sidelong Glance:
Definition:
The
essence of the sidelong glance is this: when
we prefer to evaluate our circumstances relatively (to those around us) rather
than objectively (with respect to God).
The
sidelong glance looks at circumstances from the horizontal perspective rather
than the vertical.
It’s
relative in that it looks to what others have rather than what is truly right
and good.
The
grumblers in the Matthew 20 story do just this – they look to others and
evaluate their circumstances based on that.
Manifestation:
The
sidelong glance is often manifested with words like why not me? Or that’s not
fair?
It
is usually focused on a surface-level sense of justice. It is not right that
she should get that treatment.
Illustrate:
The
sidelong glance can be illustrated like this. I like Chipotle Mexican grill.
When I get my chicken fajita burrito I am hungry and I want it as big as
possible. I am happy with the chicken they put on the sandwich until I see the
person after me getting a bigger scoop. I was not treated unfairly, but the
sidelong glance produces ENVY.
Yes,
envy is another way (a biblical word) to talk about what the sidelong glance
can often produce in our hearts.
My
kids are happy with the cookie they get until they see their brother getting a
bigger cookie with more chocolate chips in it.
Examples in Life:
The
temptations of envy in the sidelong glance are everywhere.
It
might be your work. My job is unfair. I am underpaid. I am made aware of this
when I find out what others are getting paid.
I
am undervalued and work because others get more attention and praise.
Spouses:
If only my husband would lead like other men in the church; if only my wife
would take care of me like she does for him.
Children:
My friends get to go to Disney land and we have constant stacations. – Its not
fair.
Parents:
If only my kids could be like their kids. If only they had kids like mine.
Friendships:
Clicks
It’s
not fair that they have new cars, a big new house. I work so hard.
My
work ethic is so much better but they always get the breaks.
I
am a better leader than he is but he gets to lead the group.
That
other church has this, why can’t we have it.
Personal Example:
We
are tempted differently. I don’t covet Aaron Rodgers job and pay but I can be
tempted to envy another pastor or Christian leader who gets more attention and
better pay.
What
about you?
It Is a Poison
Proverbs
14:30 ESV A tranquil heart gives life to
the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.
The
sidelong glance (leading to envy) is a terrible poison. Here are some ways:
1. It is petty and therefore
deceptive.
Envy in this
way can seem so petty in our lives. Things that we look at and envy in our
heart seem so small that we don’t name it as a sin and deal with it. We see
something we envy in another person and it just lodges in our heart under the
radar.
2. It grows into increasing
toxicity.
Because it is
small and we don’t deal with it, it grows. It adds up and builds an increasing
toxicity in our soul, in our attitudes and in our ways of seeing circumstances
and people.
3. It gives us tunnel vision –
seeing the most negative comparisons.
The sidelong
glance can lead us to a horrible tunnel vision in which we narrowly look at
others circumstances in the most negative ways. We ignore any comparison that
could encourage or convict us (i. e. – Look how good I have it; God has surely
blessed me/us) and we see the one percent that seems to us unfair or unjust.
4. It leads to discontentment and
ingratitude to God.
All of this
rips away a contentment in our lives. We are not satisfied with God and all
that He promises to be for us in Jesus and instead we are focused on all the
injustices of our life. Instead of giving thanks in all things with a joy and
hope in God we focus on what we don’t have and we actually think that we are
being robbed in some way.
5. It damages relationships.
The sidelong
glance that breeds envy is a relationship wreaker. Petty grievances turn into a
horrid toxicity in relationships. Sadly we get divided from people not because
they sinned against us but because we are coveting or we are envious.
Have you had
people in your life that you can’t put your finger on but you are annoyed by
them? You might say – “They just annoy me.” “They are just proud or vain.”
Often time envy
is at work and the poison has slowly done its work.
Church
relationships can go cold when over time you are close with people.
APPLICATIONS
How should we fight against the sidelong glance?
4 Strategies
1.
Confess envy with brutal honesty.
We need to see it and name it in our lives. This takes a willingness to
do true introspection on our own hearts. So often we don’t see it and we need
to ask God by His Spirit to reveal where the poison of envy is lodging itself
in our lives.
Where do you say to yourself – “its not fair?” If you don’t have a Bible
verse that promises you that right you need to repent of envy.
2.
Gaze Upwardly
The way to overcome the sidelong glance is the Godward Gaze! We must
look to God and meditate on who God is.
Ponder the amazing reality of God’s infinitude.
God is never exhausted in his attention and care for us.
Romans 8:28 – He works all things for our good.
“Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” – Psalm 34
There is never a time in which he is not giving us what we need.
3.
Hope in the Resurrection
What I mean here is that we are not at the place of reward.
The first will be last and the last will be first.
Now is not the time when God says everything will be settled. Unfairness
on a horizontal level may be a reality but God says – I give you the hand of
cards you have and you need to be faithful with them.
There will come a day when reward comes and it is not yet. It may seem
unfair that attention is not given to you. Trust God and look to Him. Things
will be settled some day.
4.
Remember the Gospel of Grace
How are we doing? Better than we
deserve. More than that—lavished with God’s grace.
We must not forget the Gospel of free grace. We are saved not because we
earned salvation. We are saved by grace and we deserve hell but receive mercy.
Grace is grace! We have it and we need to rejoice in that mercy.
