Congregation Shema Yisrael

The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour 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 men 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, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man 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 20:9-15

This parable of the Master is meant to communicate that, no matter at what stage in our life we come to faith in Yeshua (Jesus), our reward is the same. That is, if you came to faith at age 20, you don’t earn more heavenly “brownie points” than if you came to faith at age 40 or later. This is a topic that speaks to me, since I didn’t come to faith in Yeshua until my early 40s. When other believers find this out about me, some of them register a little bit of surprise. Some “long-time” believers have a tough time wondering what I did with my life before coming to faith. I even had one person ask me about what it was like, as he was unable to envision what a secular person’s view point of things would be, and why I’d come to faith if I hadn’t been raised (supposedly) in a believing home. That’s a little insulting.

I know these sorts of believers don’t mean to be insulting, but if Yeshua accepts me coming to him in middle-life, why can’t his other followers do the same? I recall when I first came to faith, I attended a large church in Boise that had been in the community for decades. I sadly discovered that if you and your family hadn’t been long-time members of the church and you weren’t at least a “third-generation” Christian, you were generally shunned by the “in group”. Sure, everyone was polite on the surface, but no one put much of an effort to get to know you or to help a new believer feel accepted.

I can almost hear what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that “not all believers are like that”, and you’re right. The problem is, all believers are human beings and, in our humanity, we can dim the “light to the world” we’re supposed to shine with, because of our need to elevate ourselves in our faith communities. That’s not true of all believers and hopefully not true of most…but it’s true of some.

Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their tefillin wide and the tzitzit on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’ -Matthew 23:5-7

As you can see, this isn’t just a failing of the modern church, synagogue, or general faith community. Humanity has played the status game for a long time. I sometimes wonder if some believers really read their Bibles with an eye on learning and new understanding. If they do, how did they miss this?

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. -Galatians 3:26-29

I sometimes find myself wishing that Paul had added “neither young nor old”.

As human beings, we are constantly struggling for a sense of significance and even importance in the world around us. We want to know that the people we care about also care about us. We want to feel like we’re special to them in some way. We also want to know that we are special to God. Sometimes, out of our needs and insecurities, we get carried away. Usually, the person who puffs up their pride and status the most is the person who underneath, is the most insecure. In that sense, we should not be insulted or offended by them (as I mentioned I was a few paragraphs ago), but instead, pity them and pray for them. If needing to wear “their tefillin wide and the tzitzit on their garments long” is that important, then they certainly aren’t feeling secure in God’s love for them.

I was inspired this morning by an interesting commentary when studying Gemara:

…This can be understood in light of the words of the Ohel Yaakov, zt”l. He explains that Avraham only recognized Hashem at the age of forty-eight because, had he repented earlier, he would have been unable to rebuke his generation. They would have claimed that he spoke out of ignorance, since he had never worshiped idols or indulged in immoral behavior. Because Avraham was already mature when he repented, he truly understood their philosophies before rejecting them.
From Daf Digest
Bava Basra 175
Stories off the Daf
He Who Wishes to become Wise

I’ve experienced some believers who are completely baffled by the behavior of the secular people around them. Unfortunately, that makes them ill-equipped to feel true compassion for their secular neighbors or to successfully witness to them. How can you relate to a person if you can’t even remember a time when you were like them and needing God’s love and acceptance?

I’m not saying that it would be better for everyone to come to faith later in life, but I am saying that God has a plan for all of us, great and small, old and young. If you have been a person of faith since childhood and have held strongly to the commandments all your life, you are to be commended. But do not disparage another who came to Yeshua when his or her head was already gray. We are all brothers and sisters and as God is One, His flock is one.