by: Denny

I hate grocery shopping. My wife is the one who usually does it. She will look at ads and get the best buys, even if it means going to several stores. She always has a list and knows exactly where things are in each store. I appreciate her thriftiness in staying within our means and for planning meals accordingly. She works full time, so Saturday is the day she buys groceries. In our home we share responsibilities and neither of us says, “That’s not my job”. I’ve been on layoff status this winter until spring, so I’ve had a lot of home time. I will do the dishes, laundry, vacuuming, bathe and groom the dogs, take out the garbage, clean the toilets, or whatever makes life easier for Lucy so she can relax when she gets home. (happy wife, happy life) However, some things are done exclusively by each of us only because we’re better at it. Lucy does the cooking and I handle the finances and most of the outdoor work.

Last week I made the ultimate sacrifice and volunteered to do the grocery shopping. (Love wife, hate shopping) Lucy had given me a list which involved going to three stores. I thought, “I can handle this”. I started at Walmart after dropping her off at work. My labor of love hit a speed bump in the very first aisle. Two middle aged women employees were restocking the shelves. They were having a loud conversation about the $15 an hour minimum wage the government wants to mandate on businesses. That’s all well and good but talk about it in the break room and not around customers. They didn’t take the hint that I needed to get by them, so I took the next aisle and circled back. (Love wife, hate shopping) The one woman was a real instigator and was going off on a rant how she’d been there longer than some guy who hardly does anything, so she deserved the $15 an hour and she better get it or else. I wondered what the “or else” was. I watched her go to another aisle and stir up another lady that was restocking shelves too, and I realized her “or else” was to gain a following through her whining and complaining. I got what I needed and headed to the other end of the store.

Most people would’ve let it pass, but they made my labor of love and sacrifice unpleasant (Love wife, hate shopping) and I wasn’t going to not say anything. I asked another worker to call the manager who met me in the dairy section. I explained the situation to her and basically told her I didn’t come to hear disgruntled employees. (Love wife, hate shopping) I advised her to deal with this divisive person before she spreads her bad attitude further. She thanked me and said she thought she knew who it was and would take care of it. I probably should’ve quit there. My thoughts went back decades ago to when I was doing long haul trucking pulling a reefer. Many times, I’d go without sleep just to get a load delivered on time. I’d be dead tired and still would have to stack the entire load on the customer’s pallets without pay and so much as a thank you. I’d be away from home for weeks eating truck stop food and sleeping in my truck. If I counted all those hours as “on the job”, I probably didn’t even make $2.00 an hour. If it weren’t for truckers busting their rear ends, people like that woman wouldn’t even have a job stocking shelves. I don’t have any empathy or patience for people who whine about how deserving they are of a $15 an hour guarantee, and I told the manager that. She understood my perspective and point, and she said her dad was also a truck driver.

Jesus told a parable in Matthew 20:1-16 dealing with this very same issue. Basically, a landowner went out to the marketplace and hired some workers about 6:00 AM. In verse 2 it says that he agreed with the workers for a denarius a day, which was a normal day’s wages back then. The fact that he agreed with them indicates there may have been some bargaining or perhaps they came right out a stated they wanted that amount. At any rate they made a mutual agreement, and the workers headed for the vineyard. In verses 3-7 we read that the landowner returned to the marketplace at 9:00, noon, 3:00 and 5:00 to hire more workers. In each case he simply told them he would pay them what was right, and they didn’t ask what that would be. Perhaps they were just glad to have the work and anything would be better than nothing. I also think the landowner had a good reputation and his word was good enough for them. At the end of the day the landowner paid all the workers a denarius. The first ones hired presumed they would be paid more since they worked hard all day and put in more hours. In today’s language they were saying they had seniority. The landowner said, (my paraphrasing) “Hey, I’m paying you exactly what we agreed on aren’t I, so what’s your problem? If I want to be generous and pay everyone the same that’s my choice and not a government mandate. I haven’t wronged you so take your money and go home.” Chances are that if he went back to the marketplace the next day looking for workers, those same ones would wait to be hired last so they could put in less hours and get paid the same. As it says in Ecclesiastes 1:9 “There is nothing new under the sun.” So much of our culture today is entitlement minded. They want the big paycheck, but don’t want to have to put in the time or work hard for it. Free is even better! Think about this: The mouse gets caught in the trap because he thinks the cheese is free.

The heart of the issue is rooted in covetousness, greed, pride, and everything needing to be fair. Fairness to the first ones hired would mean they should get paid more than the last ones, and they were entitled to it. However, the landowner exposed their evil eyes through his goodness. The “World” that the Bible refers to says everything must be fair, but God is just, and you’ll never understand Him or His ways if you miss that basic principle. My experience over my lifetime as an employee is that if you want to be promoted or get a raise, be the best you can at what you do. Do what’s expected without complaining, show up on time, be content with your pay, and don’t criticize the boss or listen to those who do. If you can’t do that, then quit. Don’t stay and make life miserable for everyone else, especially for those of us who Love wife, hate shopping.