About the author: Joy, born and raised in China, is a second year graduate student at Teachers College, Columbia University. She likes to journal what she experiences in the U.S. Joy wants to have as many American experiences as possible.
Recently, I was invited to a friend's home to have dinner and a little discussion of the Bible. It went very well since I realized the parable that we were reading was so similar to the second interpretation of the story of a race between the turtle and the rabbit that I told to my students in the class. Well, I know it's kind of confusing. Let's start with the parable in the Bible first.
Matthew 20:1-16 The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 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?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “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.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘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.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
What a great parable (or story, if you will.), right? Here goes the second interpretation of the story of the rabbit and the turtle.
We all know that the story of the turtle and the rabbit goes like this:
“Once upon a time a Turtle and a Rabbit had an argument about who was faster.
They decided to settle the argument with a race. They agreed on a route and started off the race. The rabbit shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Then seeing that he was far ahead of the turtle, he thought he'd sit under a tree for some time and relax before continuing the race. He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep. The turtle plodding on overtook him and
soon finished the race, emerging as the undisputed champ. The rabbit woke up and realized that he'd lost the race.”
The story tells us to never be lazy, never give up, and things like that. Lots of people may perhaps put themselves in the turtle's position, saying " well you know, even though I was born in a poor family, as long as I try my best to work as hard as I can, I will surely win the competition of life". They encourage themselves to never give up, to work harder, and to always believe in themselves.
However, how can you be so sure that the rabbit would be lazy and arrogant? In reality, however, there are so many "rabbits" who not only run very fast, but they are even more competitive and hardworking. Imagine if the turtle is competing against this kind of rabbit. Apparently and sadly, the turtle will never, ever win the competition. Similarly, there are so many people in the world who were born in a rich and powerful family, yet they are always humble and hard-working. This seems to make lots of people who are struggling with their lives feel unfair and uncomfortable. Buzzing like these is everywhere...
"Why do they always get lucky?" "I wish I were them, born with everything" "It's just he was born in a rich family. Without his family, he's nothing." "If I were her, I would do much better."
People are so good at complaining, right? If you ever feel shy talking to people, try find a thing or a topic that people always complain about . I am sure you guys will have a lot to talk about. Yet, the root of all these complaints is, no doubt, comparison. I guess it's a human nature that people just can't help compare themselves to others, in every aspect: appearance, grades, work, family, clothes... everything.
Back to the story of the turtle and the rabbit. Another perspective of the story can be: well, even though the rabbit runs fast and works hard, the turtle lives much longer than the rabbit.
As the Bible goes: The last will be first, and the first will be last. Every one has their own grace. You run fast, but you don't get to live as longer as the turtle does. You lose the competition, yet you have many more years to live and to enjoy. Just like the workers in Vineyard. For those who worked at 9 o'clock in the morning, though they worked longer than the rest of the workers, they may have learnt skills of gardening, or some other skills.
Every one has their own grace. We should always remember what's good in our life, and be grateful for it. Don't ever feel jealous or complain about life being unfair. Life is fair, if you are grateful and focus on the positive side.
