afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around.He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
“ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The vineyard owner told the disgruntled workers, “Look, it’s my money, not yours.” The situation in this parable is completely different from how the government hands out entitlements.The money they’re handing out is not their money, and that’s why it’s so easy to spend. The owner of the vineyard had the right to pay the workers any amount of money he wanted. It was his money. He simply was good to everybody. The workers who’d worked the longest forgot one thing: they agreed to the price they were paid.
But in America nowadays, it’s one size fits all because of the entitlement system. Everyone seemingly has a contract with the U.S. government, whether it’s for Medicare, Medicaid, or food stamps. But the government doesn’t have to help everyone who is poor; they could focus their help on the ones in the greatest need—whether it’s because they’re sick, dying, or disabled. Instead of always giving the needy a fish, let’s give them a fishing pole. Instead of giving money to everyone who wants it, let’s only give it to the ones who need it. There’s a vast difference between those who want and those who are truly in need. Let’s put those who can work to work. We shouldn’t be enabling people to become completely dependent upon the government; we should be finding them work so they can help themselves. God said if you don’t work, you don’t eat.
It seems to me that America was better off before welfare even existed, when there was a permeating expectation in this country that you were supposed to work, raise your children, and pay your bills. There’s a guy who lives up the road from me who was on welfare and food stamps for a while. He didn’t have a job, and he had a wife and children to feed. I’d hired him to dosome odd jobs around my property over the years, and I finally asked him, “How am I going to get you off this free government money? What can you do that is constructive?”
“Well, I can drive a truck,” he said.
“Okay, here’s what I’m going to do,” I told him. “I’m going to buy you a truck and a trailer to haul gravel. I’m going to buy you one of those big eighteen-wheelers. It’s going to be my truck, but you’re going to drive it. You’re going to haul gravel, and you’re going to haul corn and grain from the farmers’ fields. It’s going to be a free truck for you to use to earn an honest living. You won’t have a truck note, and you won’t have to pay for the insurance. I’m going to take care of all of that. Are you with me?”
“Keep talking,” he said.
“These farmers are going to pay you to haul their corn and grain,” I said. “People are
“ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The vineyard owner told the disgruntled workers, “Look, it’s my money, not yours.” The situation in this parable is completely different from how the government hands out entitlements.The money they’re handing out is not their money, and that’s why it’s so easy to spend. The owner of the vineyard had the right to pay the workers any amount of money he wanted. It was his money. He simply was good to everybody. The workers who’d worked the longest forgot one thing: they agreed to the price they were paid.
But in America nowadays, it’s one size fits all because of the entitlement system. Everyone seemingly has a contract with the U.S. government, whether it’s for Medicare, Medicaid, or food stamps. But the government doesn’t have to help everyone who is poor; they could focus their help on the ones in the greatest need—whether it’s because they’re sick, dying, or disabled. Instead of always giving the needy a fish, let’s give them a fishing pole. Instead of giving money to everyone who wants it, let’s only give it to the ones who need it. There’s a vast difference between those who want and those who are truly in need. Let’s put those who can work to work. We shouldn’t be enabling people to become completely dependent upon the government; we should be finding them work so they can help themselves. God said if you don’t work, you don’t eat.
It seems to me that America was better off before welfare even existed, when there was a permeating expectation in this country that you were supposed to work, raise your children, and pay your bills. There’s a guy who lives up the road from me who was on welfare and food stamps for a while. He didn’t have a job, and he had a wife and children to feed. I’d hired him to dosome odd jobs around my property over the years, and I finally asked him, “How am I going to get you off this free government money? What can you do that is constructive?”
“Well, I can drive a truck,” he said.
“Okay, here’s what I’m going to do,” I told him. “I’m going to buy you a truck and a trailer to haul gravel. I’m going to buy you one of those big eighteen-wheelers. It’s going to be my truck, but you’re going to drive it. You’re going to haul gravel, and you’re going to haul corn and grain from the farmers’ fields. It’s going to be a free truck for you to use to earn an honest living. You won’t have a truck note, and you won’t have to pay for the insurance. I’m going to take care of all of that. Are you with me?”
“Keep talking,” he said.
“These farmers are going to pay you to haul their corn and grain,” I said. “People are
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