Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Is your eye evil, because I am good?

– Matthew 20:15

Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

This verse is from The Parable of the Vineyard Workers. After reading it, we may say, “God is gracious to whom He will be gracious! God is righteous.” However, when we have done a lot of work and paid the price, if we get sick or fail to gain God’s approval, we will feel lost and even complain against God. So, how should we understand God’s righteous disposition?

God says, “Righteousness is by no means impartial and reasonable, cutting one in two, compensating you according to the quantity of work you do or paying you for how much work you have done. This is not God’s righteousness. You believe that each person does his share, with distribution according to work done, and that each person receives his due according to what he puts out; none other than this is righteousness. Suppose God eliminated Job after Job bore witness for Him. God is righteous here, too. Why say that He is righteous? Saying that God is righteous in doing this, why say such a thing? Righteousness is such a thing that if something matches people’s conceptions, people say God is righteous, which is much easier, but if people do not see it as matching their conceptions, if it is something that people are unable to understand, that would require a great effort of people to explain that as righteousness. If He had eliminated Job at that time, people would not say that God was righteous. Even if there were people who said He was, they would say unwillingly: ‘Jehovah God is all right….’ In fact if people are eliminated by God, whether or not they have been corrupted, ought God to explain the reasons for elimination to people? Should He explain to people His basis for eliminating them? There would be no need, right? Need it be based on preserving useful persons, and eliminating a useless person? It need not. In God’s eyes a corrupted person can be dealt with as He pleases. However it is done is appropriate; all is in His plan. If unpleasant to His eyes, you are useless after bearing witness and are eliminated, is this righteous? It is righteousness. Though in reality this is not easy to understand, you must have an understanding in principle.”

Our understanding of righteousness is fairness and reasonableness, giving equally, and each person receives his due according to what he puts out, getting more if he has done more work, less if he has done less work or nothing if he has done nothing. However, this is just man’s logic, not in line with God. Job stood testimony for God in trial, so God blessed him even more, and Jehovah God also appeared to him and spoke to him in the wind. In people’s eyes, this is what Job ought to receive. But God said if He eliminated Job after Job bore witness for Him, God is still righteous. For whether God eliminated Job or not is not based on whether or not Job stood testimony for God, or whether Job was useful or not, but depends on the essence of God. No matter how God deals with a creature, it is all righteous.