Why Stand Ye Here All the Day Idle?
That's the question that the householder in Jesus' parable of the laborers in the vineyard put to those who still stood in the marketplace at the eleventh hour. At times, when I've read their answer, "Because no man hath hired us," I've thought that that this was a pretty pathetic excuse. At least I'm fairly certain that I couldn't get away with hanging around an office building all day waiting for someone to offer me a job. But that last thought is hardly in keeping with the context of this parable.
First of all, as I learned on a mission in Arizona, this daily waiting around for an offer of employment is fairly common among agricultural workers. No contract extends beyond the end of the day. The act of hanging around in certain places at a certain time of the day is itself a form of job-seeking. So idleness is not intended by these good folks, nor is laziness. This is just working within the system, such as it is.
Secondly, I think there are spirtual lessons here as well. For example, must we not all daily offer ourselves to the Lord as laborers in His vineyard? Have we not been counseled that our covenants must be kept, our commitment renewed, on a daily basis?
But this is not what I intended to write about. My purpose is to point out that the question posed in Matt 20:6 (which also forms the title of this post) and the answer in verse seven reminded me today of 2 Nephi 2:16, which says that "man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other." This further reminded me of D&C 123:12, in which Joseph Smith points out that many people on the earth "are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it." So we have issues of not only willingness to labor, but also agency itself and knowledge of truth.
I would not be surprised to learn that this parable's standers in the marketplace are commonly thought to represent those who have not as yet had sufficient knowledge of the truth to choose the Lord. I think this is a good interpetation, and yet in such a system as the one used here, the laborers are not generally picky about the name or nature of their employer. They generally just go with the first person who asks them, as reflected in the answer of the idlers. What are the implications of that?
Perhaps it is enough for Satan that we are idle. He may not entice us to labor actively as antagonists of the Lord, being satisfied with the opposition that comes from inertia. Indeed, the householder here only seems to question the potential laborers about why they are not working. He doesn't say "why aren't you working for me?" So work itself may be the issue. There are other parables that define the employer, and the only hint of that in this is the Lord's introduction that this parable represents the kingdom of heaven. Given only that, might not the whole marketplace represent that kingdom?
In any case, the thought goes back again to D&C 58, with its injunction to "be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of [our] own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness" (verse 27). In order to do this, we have to be free to choose, which Lehi above reminds us requires an invitation. The Lord doesn't seem to be as concerned with the exact cause, so long as it is good, because all good causes are his. This is plain from verse 26 of the same section, but I think it is supported by the parable in Matthew 20.
First of all, as I learned on a mission in Arizona, this daily waiting around for an offer of employment is fairly common among agricultural workers. No contract extends beyond the end of the day. The act of hanging around in certain places at a certain time of the day is itself a form of job-seeking. So idleness is not intended by these good folks, nor is laziness. This is just working within the system, such as it is.
Secondly, I think there are spirtual lessons here as well. For example, must we not all daily offer ourselves to the Lord as laborers in His vineyard? Have we not been counseled that our covenants must be kept, our commitment renewed, on a daily basis?
But this is not what I intended to write about. My purpose is to point out that the question posed in Matt 20:6 (which also forms the title of this post) and the answer in verse seven reminded me today of 2 Nephi 2:16, which says that "man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other." This further reminded me of D&C 123:12, in which Joseph Smith points out that many people on the earth "are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it." So we have issues of not only willingness to labor, but also agency itself and knowledge of truth.
I would not be surprised to learn that this parable's standers in the marketplace are commonly thought to represent those who have not as yet had sufficient knowledge of the truth to choose the Lord. I think this is a good interpetation, and yet in such a system as the one used here, the laborers are not generally picky about the name or nature of their employer. They generally just go with the first person who asks them, as reflected in the answer of the idlers. What are the implications of that?
Perhaps it is enough for Satan that we are idle. He may not entice us to labor actively as antagonists of the Lord, being satisfied with the opposition that comes from inertia. Indeed, the householder here only seems to question the potential laborers about why they are not working. He doesn't say "why aren't you working for me?" So work itself may be the issue. There are other parables that define the employer, and the only hint of that in this is the Lord's introduction that this parable represents the kingdom of heaven. Given only that, might not the whole marketplace represent that kingdom?
In any case, the thought goes back again to D&C 58, with its injunction to "be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of [our] own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness" (verse 27). In order to do this, we have to be free to choose, which Lehi above reminds us requires an invitation. The Lord doesn't seem to be as concerned with the exact cause, so long as it is good, because all good causes are his. This is plain from verse 26 of the same section, but I think it is supported by the parable in Matthew 20.
Comments
Labor's contradiction is idleness. How idle have we been? What could we have accomplished if we didn't succumb to the ease of technology. Instead of getting more done because of technology, many of us accomplish far less.
What did you choose to do with your evenings? I'm an avid gamer and I enjoy reading a good book. In most cases, I would suggest my time could be spent more wisely toward the important labors. Cease to be Idle. Does that include the down-time we enjoy so much after coming home from a long day's work?
Regarding your last query, I think that depends on what you mean by the terms "long" and "day's." For me, my full-time job takes up most of the day between the actual shift and the commute, but I do very little work there - at least in the slow season. My role is similar to that of a fireman: I'm not needed very much unless things go wrong.
Strangely (or not), however, I feel more drained by a day of doing nothing than by a day of hard labor, such as I used to have when I was installing fences for a living. I get out of shape and lazy, which makes it harder to be a good husband and father when I get home (which is the most important work, as I know you agree), and it saps the energy I would put into my filmmaking on the side. What I'm saying is, the job is "long," but it's not even close to comprising my "day's work."
Also, down-time for me is a strange phenomenon. I have too much of it at work, but it leaves me wanting more. I feel like I need to relax eight hours of sitting in a stationary seat and two hours of sitting in a moving seat, occasionally interrupted by a short walk or a few lifting motions.
Now, I don't want to go back to installing fences all day, but I do want to spend my time in a manner that doesn't encourage bone loss. :)
One other thing about the ease of technology. Being in the creative field that my side interests - hopefully not "side" for much longer - are in, I can attest that technology, used well, does not always equal ease. A long day of shooting is some of the most strenuous labor I've ever done - physically and in other ways. Producing worthy content for the "boob-tube" is hard work, and I argue that watching it can be worthy work as well, if it's done with the right spirit. That means it has to be more active than just sitting.
Having said that, I have to admit to an occasional temptation to kick back and lose my mind on a movie I've seen fifty times already.
Having said that I have to admit that I hardly ever watch anything, anymore, especially television. But that's a topic for another time.
As I was thinking about idleness and our need to involve ourselves in the work, I thought of something someone said in a devotional earlier this week: We recognize God's hand in modern technology. Computers, the internet, cell phones, airplanes, and other modern miracles are all tools that can be used for the building up of the Kingdom.
What about modern employment? We start working full time later, we retire sooner, and we have WAY more free time than did our predecessors. Could the pattern of modern work be a tool that the Lord has established to further the work? I think so.
Take temple/ family history work alone and you could already have your hands full. It's amazing that the Lord has provided time for us to work. I think part of the test is what we do in our realtively abundant spare time.
I hope that makes sense/ contributes at all to the discussion.