Winter had come, though it seemed to be more like fall. It hadn’t snowed much and there were beautiful sunny days to do outdoor activities, although it was a bit chilly. Grandpa had come to stay for the weekend, which was always exciting for Annie and Max. Grandpa had invited some children from church to go down to the beach to clean up the shore by picking up litter and placing them in garbage bags. Three o’clock in the afternoon had come, and Grandpa, Annie and Max headed down to the beach where they would meet up with the others. Grandpa had promised to pay ten dollars to each child who came out to help. When they got there, no one was there.

“Grandpa, I don’t see anyone else” said Max as he looked everywhere, hoping to see some of the others.

“Maybe they will show up later, for now, let us begin ourselves,” responded Grandpa with a sweet smile.

So, Annie and Max put on their gloves, and each went hopping about with a black garbage back in hand ready to pick up any litter they found.

About fifteen minutes went by when some other children began to appear. Then thirty minutes, even an hour later some others showed up. Five minutes before the activity was finished, another child named Jordan came to help. Annie secretly laughed. There was no way Jordan would get the ten dollars. He had only helped for five minutes! When the time was up, all children surrounded Grandpa with their bags full of litter. Only Jordan had an almost empty bag. After they threw the bags into the garbage bins, Annie thought to herself how her and Max would get ten dollars, but the others would get less because they had not been there from the start; and Jordan, well he wouldn’t even get a dollar. Maybe fifty cents just so he wouldn’t feel bad.

The children surrounded Grandpa as he took out his wallet. To Annie’s surprise, everyone got ten dollars, even Jordan! This made Annie very uneasy, and even a bit angry. On their way back home, Grandpa noticed there was something wrong.

“Annie, is everything okay?” Grandpa asked as he put his hand on Annie’s shoulder. Annie didn’t want to say anything, but without being able to contain herself she responded, “Grandpa, all the other children did not deserve the ten dollars. They didn’t work as much as Max and I. You even gave Jordan ten dollars, and he was only there for five minutes! Why did you do this?”

Grandpa smiled. When they got home, mother had prepared some tea. As they drank their tea, Grandpa opened his Bible and began to read from Matthew 20:1–16 (please read if desired)—a parable Jesus once told about a vineyard owner who had done something similar. The vineyard owner had promised to pay all his workers fairly. Some of the workers had worked from an early hour and others had worked much less; however he still paid them all what he had promised.

“But what does this mean, Grandpa?” Asked Annie confused. She thought it was quite unfair.

“The vineyard owner represent Jesus. The workers are all those who follow and serve Him. What this means, dear, is that Jesus will always give a fair and just reward to each one who serves Him. He is our Lord and we should not murmur nor feel discontent with the blessings He gives us. We may think we deserve more than others, but only God knows why He gives to each that what He gives. But one thing you can be sure of, and that is that He will always be just and fair. We must learn to appreciate that which He gives to each one.

Just like what happened today, you should be happy that I gave you the ten dollars I promised I would give you. How much I give to the other children shouldn’t bother you because I am the one giving and I chose how I will repay each one. Just be happy with what you have.”

“Grandpa, I think I understand. It definitely doesn´t feel nice to compare what others receive with what I receive. I truly am happy with the ten dollars you paid me. And I don’t ever want to murmur about God’s blessings towards me because I know He gives me what is just and fair.”

Annie gave Grandpa a big hug, and they finished their tea.