By the Way: When you feel hard done by

By Rev Dr. Nancy Cocks on May 3, 2025.

Jesus tells a story about a business owner facing a labour shortage. He hires labourers throughout a day to get his harvest in. Four times he hires workers, promising them “the usual daily wage”.

He pays them at the end of a long day. The ones hired last receive a full day’s pay – and so do those hired first. Those guys fume.

They argue, “We deserve more! We worked longer. It’s only fair.”

The employer reminds them that he paid them what was agreed, a full day’s pay.

“Take your pay and stop grumbling.”

Then the owner adds, “Or is your eye evil because I am generous?”

The evil eye. Reminds me of Granny Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies! It also reminds me of my younger self, carefully pouring out a bottle of pop to split with my older sister. She better not get one drop more. Not one crumb more cake.

The “evil eye” is always calculating fairness. The measure is “even steven.” No sister should get an ounce more than I do!

Some Albertans are feeling upset by following the federal election. They anticipate not receiving as much as they think we deserve. They worry someone will get more than we do.

The “evil eye” is always calculating what we lack. But the business owner in the parable reminds his workers what they have received: a full day’s pay – what every worker needs for their well-being.

The generous heart recognizes what it has already received. The generous heart considers what others need for their well-being.

Sometimes we forget how much we already enjoy – the highest median income in Canada, the highest provincial personal income tax exemption in Canada, and no need for a provincial sales tax. I have lived in five provinces, coast to coast, and nowhere else enjoyed such benefits.

So I try to live with a grateful, generous heart, not an evil, calculating eye. It’s something I learned from Jesus. It’s good for my mental health – and for living together in Canada.

Rev Dr. Nancy Cocks is a retired Presbyterian Minister

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