In Honor of Holy week... Matthew 21:28-32

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Some times I wonder what sons am I in this parable. Am I being the first or the second son? Sometimes I say no I don't want to do this work; it is too much, too hard and end up doing it anyway because I think of what it means in the grand scheme of things. Other times I say I will go and end up not going for fear of loss, failure or pain.

The thing that makes the biggest difference is that I believe. Even though sometimes I am reluctant to hold fast because of my human frailties, I believe that every moment is a chance to change, to do better than the last moment. I think the first son also believed. He thought about what not going to the vineyard would mean. He realized that despite what he was feeling at the time he talked to his father. His principle of obedience was more important and so he submitted and went.


The second son though he said he would go, did not follow through. In the end he let whatever negativity that was in his mind about going to the vineyard overtake his integrity. Ultimately he was just saying what his father wanted to hear.

In life we need to have the highest of principles and hold true to them. We cannot let negativity about situations and things overtake our principles. One of the highest principle that humans should have is belief. We should believe in the good of people and ourselves. We should believe that love conquers all.