Do you ever resent what God does for others? Fair is fair. Do we want justice or mercy? Melanie and I watched a television show where one who worked hard shared his reward with others who had done no work at all. This irritated the ones who had worked hard. It is possible to resent grace!
When David and his men lost their families to an Amalekite raid, the men wanted to kill David. David sought the Lord about whether to pursue the Amalekites. God told them to pursue their enemies. Some of the men went into the battle, while others were too exhausted and remained behind. Winning the battle, David reclaimed his family and the men’s families, along with the spoils of the battle. Instead of excluding the ones who stayed behind, David included them and also shared the spoils with others. He reasoned that God alone had enabled them to succeed.
Later, the Son of David, Jesus, told a parable about an employer who gave the same wages to all the workers whether they labored all day or only for a little while. The ones who worked the longest expected to get more. David’s mercy and generosity showed that he was a man after God’s own heart. Thank God he does not give us what we deserve. In God’s grace, he offers us forgiveness and does not repay us for our sins. We who have been given God’s grace must never begrudge it to others. We are never diminished by sharing the grace God has given us.
