Where life and a Parable intersect

I make no pretense at knowing the Bible the way I should, but a lifetime of Sunday School and weekly sermons has given me a certain familiarity with the stories. Occasionally, I can relate one to real life and it happened with the Williams-Sonoma Christmas catalog last night.

In Matthew 20:1-16 (don't get excited--I looked it up. At least I knew which book to start with, and by that I mean Matthew and not the New Testament) Jesus tells the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. In brief, the landowner hires a group in the early morning and they agree on a day's wages. A few hours later, he knows he needs more help, and so he hires more. This goes on all day, and each time the wage settled on is the same. When it comes time to settle accounts, he starts with the last group hired. By the time it gets to those who've worked all day, they're thinking they'll get more. They don't. Miffed, they challenge, and he tells them they're getting what they all agreed on. Therefore, the first shall be last.

This is not the lesson I take from this. Perhaps I blend it with the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) who takes his half the inheritance and squanders it, then is welcomed home with a feast (much to the chagrin of the older brother). The father tells number one that he always had it all and the younger brother could have died with nothing.

Similar in tone, but same in lesson, to my way of thinking. The workers hired first knew they'd be getting a wage and the others were standing around all day just hoping they would.

What does this have to do with Williams-Sonoma? Well, in October, I treated us to a Nespresso coffee system for espresso and cappuccino. We have enjoyed it for 2 months. Then in the catalog I see where if you purchased it now, you'd get a $75 credit toward more of the little coffee capsules. Huh?

Grouse, grumble. Where's my bonus? Oh, yeah, I've had special coffee for two months.