Matthew 20:11-12
When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage?
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
Such a simple tune written in 1897 by Johnson Oatman Jr that many will remember back from Sunday school and it is a truth that many times we forget to apply to our lives thus we start complaining and grumbling.
The servants who came early morning forgot to count their blessings. They forgot that in the morning they had nothing to do and the master came and offered them work to do. They forgot that the master gave them a good deal since he agreed to pay them the accepted market rate for a day’s work. They forgot that the master provided them with a good working environment and they were able to put in a day’s work without being harassed and taken advantage of. They forgot that the master actually called them in to pay them and he actually was paying them what they agreed on. He did not tell them to come the next day for their pay; he was paying them on time. They forgot that in the morning they had nothing in their pocket and now they had something to take home and feed their families. They forgot that the master must have been pleased with their work because he had not complained. They overlooked the fact that tomorrow was another day that the master would probably also need their services once again because the work was not complete.
They forgot to count their blessings and in so doing they had no reason to be thankful instead they complained and were bitter.
When was the last time you counted your blessings?
Before you complain, have you taken the time to look around you to see the blessings that God has showered you with? Have you forgotten and despised His goodness to you?
Psalm 107:8-9 (NLT)
8 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. 9 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
