Such was the question put by the householder, in the parable, to
the laborers that murmured against him. He had gone forth early in
the morning to hire men for his vineyard. He discovers that those
engaged at first were not enough, so he continues to go forth at
different times during the day to the market-place to employ
others. With those first hired he had made a stipulated contract,
fixing the wages at so much; with those later hired no such fixed
agreement was made, but merely the general promise given that he
would pay them whatever was fair and just. In the evening, when the
work was over, and the steward ready to pay off the men, he directed
to give them all one and the same coin; each was to receive a penny,
the value of which, considering all things, was about $1.50 in our
present-day currency, a common laborer's wage. Whereupon, relates
the parable, those who had been in the vineyard all the day thought
themselves hardly, unjustly treated. They said, "These last have
wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal with us which
have borne the burden of the day." "So I have," said the master of
the vineyard to one of those murmurers; I have paid you alike, but
have you not received your just due, the sum you agreed for? "Take
that thine is, and go thy way. Have I not the right to do as I like
with my own money?" And so, if I choose to remunerate these men
after the manner that I have, what hurt or worry is that to thee?
"Is thine eye evil because I am good?"
Let us regard for our study and profit this morning this one
particular, "the evil eye," noting _I. its nature_, _II. its cure_.
And may God bless His Word!
What, to begin with, is meant by an "evil eye"? It may in different
places of the Bible mean different things. What is meant in the text
is clear enough. The evil eye here is such an eye as the laborers in
the vineyard had when they looked askance at their neighbor's good
fortune. An evil eye, therefore, is a grudging, an envious eye. To
say of any one in this sense that he has an evil eye, is the same
as saying that he is of a grudging, an envious turn of mind. Now,
this particular turn of mind is far more common than it ought to
be. The divine Householder still has occasion to ask, "Is thine
eye evil?" It is a spirit very general, in truth, it is the moral
epidemic of the world, it is found everywhere, and more or less in
everybody, yourself, my dear hearers, myself not excepted. We open
our Bibles, and we read of Ahab, King of Israel, dwelling in the
midst of affluence and of plenty, yet he goes to his royal palace,
heavy and displeased, and lays himself down on his bed and will
not eat,--why? His evil eye grudged a poor vineyard which Naboth
would not surrender. Haman was the favorite of King Ahasuerus,
the mighty ruler of Babylon. All the princes of Persia pay him
respect and riches are his; the evil eye has stung his heart, and
he says, "All this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai,
the Jew, sitting at the king's gate, who will not bow to me." Nor
is it confined to the rich, this grudging cast of mind. Coming
down the ladder of life, who were the people that murmured against
the owner of the vineyard? Were they not common laborers, who had
been hired to work for the day, day laborers? And the disease is
prevalent among them yet to-day. The disposition to grumble and
tease themselves into dissatisfaction and discontent over the good
estate of their more favored and fortunate fellow-men, is not this
the fundamental heresy of Socialism, the evil eye? Again, coming
from the various classes of men to the different spheres of life,
in the private and social sphere, what mean those jealousies and
rivalries that are ever dividing a neighbor from a neighbor, friend
from friend, relatives from relatives? Because the one possesses
more of this world's money or goods, because one is more attractive
and amiable in person, has greater intellectual endowments, is more
popular, eloquent, skilled, holds a position superior, he becomes
the occasion for a brother or a sister or a neighbor to envy him,
and the butt of all sorts of petty and annoying uncharitableness on
the part of relatives. Example: Because he was beloved by his father
and had dreamed a dream which showed him superior to them, Joseph
was hated by his brothers, and they could not speak peaceably to
him. No, let us beware of flattering ourselves that this malignant
eye is not in the Church. The vineyard of the parable symbolizes the
Church. The minister of the Gospel who looks askance with green-eyed
jealousy at another whose efforts are crowned with greater success
than his own; the Sunday-school teacher who throws up the work in
wounded self-love because some one else occupies the place and
prestige he or she covets; the over-sensitive member who smarts
under the feeling that his or her talents are not sufficiently
recognized, their efforts duly respected and flattered, and so
withdraws altogether from every kind of cooperation and enterprise,
may all look into, and carefully examine, their spiritual eyesight
in the light of this text.
And having regarded the prevalency of the evil eye, what shall we
say to it? It is something foolish. It shows a want of thought.
People are envied for their superiority in fortune and estate, but
the distinction between the gifts of God to man are not so wide as
you may think. The rich man has his park, the poor man can look at
it and enjoy it without the expense of maintaining it. Some people
live in a stately mansion, but they have to pay very heavily for
the privilege. The rich man has his valuable picture gallery; but
to see the sun rise in the morning and set in golden splendor in
the evening is a picture such as no human artist can paint. The
poor man possesses not, it is true, some of the conveniences and
delights of the better favored, but, in return, he is free from the
many embarrassments to which they are subject. By the simplicity and
uniformity of his life he is delivered from a variety of cares. His
plain meal eaten with relish and appetite is more delicious than the
luxurious banquet. You are acquainted with the story that tells of
the king who invited a dissatisfied subject of his realm to visit
him in his palace. He put a rich spread before him in his banquet
hall, and asked him to indulge heartily. But the man instantly
turned pale, and his appetite was gone, as, accidentally looking up,
he beheld a sharp sword suspended by a tiny thread over his head.
Then why envy the man whom God has gifted with talents of mind and
tongue? Greater gifts entail greater responsibilities, toil, study,
and more arduous duties. Foolish!
Moreover, what does all this envy of a fellow-man's better fortune
avail? For me to pine over my neighbor's better fortune, for me to
covet his superior talents of mind or beauty of person, will not
make me more attractive and talented. What folly, then, because you
are not so fortunate as another to make yourself miserable over it!
"Envy," says a certain writer, "is the source of endless vexation,
an instrument of self-torture, a rottenness in the bones, a burning,
festering ulcer of the soul."
But the evil eye is not only foolish, it is more, it is positively
sinful, and to indulge in such a spirit leads into all sorts of
misery and woe. Because she was envious, Mother Eve stretched out
her hand, and, eating, brought a blight on Paradise and a curse over
God's creation. Because envy filled his heart, the first child born
into this world rose up and slew his innocent brother. Because of
envy Joseph was cast into the pit by his brothers. Why was David
persecuted by King Saul? Why did Ahab shed the blood of Naboth? Why
did the high priests, the scribes and Pharisees seek the death of
the Holiest and Best that ever trod this earth, and did not rest
till they fastened their eyes upon His agonizing form on the cross?
What was it? Envy. It has ever been the mother of every evil work
and vice. And its workings are to-day no different than then. In how
many thousand ugly shapes does it show itself!
Now, this is the most important part, how may it be overcome?
What is the remedy, or the remedies, that might be suggested? The
laborers had been called into the vineyard, the householder was
under no obligation to hire them; that he did so was by his own
free choice. In a much higher sense, the heavenly Householder has
placed us into this world. He has given us certain things, certain
talents; some of us have received more, some less, but all that all
of us have in body, mind, and estate we have from Him. "What hast
thou that thou hast not received?" "By the grace of God I am what I
am." Whatever we have we have from God. Seeing this, and that all
alike are but the recipients of God's gifts, for me to be envious of
another, whom God has given more, argues dissatisfaction, discontent
with God's will and ways. God well knows how to distribute His
gifts, and why He distributes them as He does; and so let no one of
us arraign His providence. You have and receive just what is fair,
and just that you should receive, and so learn to be content with
that. "Take that thine is, and go thy way." That would I suggest
as the first remedy against envy,--contentment, a sense of the
conviction that what we have is given us all by grace, God's kind
favor, and that He gives us just what is proper and right.
The second remedy is this, that we bear in mind that envy is the
spirit of the devil. Heaven and heavenly creatures are never
envious; hell and its occupants are aflame with it. Envy is
against the Fifth Commandment, which reads: "Thou shalt not kill,"
a disposition of the heart that lusteth unto murder. St. Paul
classifies it among the works of the flesh, putting it in such
company as adultery, fornication, idolatry, murder, drunkenness,
and the like, and over and against such things and associations a
Christian's mind and conduct is plain. We must fight it and avoid
it. Not the evil spirit, but the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is to rule
in our hearts, and Christ's Spirit is a Spirit of love, not the evil
eye, but the good eye, the eye that wishes good and rejoices in the
good of his neighbor. Since we cannot have both an evil and a good
eye, it is for us to consult the heavenly Oculist. Let us pray
God to help us against this murderous spirit; it is a work of the
flesh; in a word, ask Him for the "good eye," and use it. That is,
cultivate the spirit of rejoicing over the good fortune and success
of another, giving due recognition to his talents and his endeavors,
thanking God that, if one cannot himself do it so well, there is
another whom He has given the means and ability to serve Him. Remedy
second, then: root it out with God's help. He can do that, and He
will do that, if we ask Him.
And to come back to the parable, it is only the workman who puts
aside the evil eye that is acceptable in the Lord's vineyard and
does His work well. The person that is always bent on his own honor,
dignity, and self-consciousness is easily offended, and easily draws
back. The superiority or success of another unnerves him, and not
infrequently he acts like a balking horse. Not so the person who has
been with the Divine Oculist, and has received in the place of the
evil the good eye. He is willing to pluck grapes in a corner of the
Lord's vineyard where they are not so plentiful and luscious. What
if there was a St. Paul and an Augustine and a Luther and a Walther,
and if to-day we have men in the ministry who quite overshadow me?
Shall I for that reason keep my hands from filling grapes into my
church basket? Nevermore. Should you, because you are no church
officer or esteemed pillar in the sanctuary? Even if you cannot
pluck some grapes, you may at least hold the basket.
The Church has a place for everybody; five times did the householder
go out to hire laborers. It has a place for you; but when you come,
leave behind you the evil eye. For that the Church has no place. Let
every one think seriously over the text, examine his eyesight, ask
God's forgiveness, for Christ's sake, for the sins he has committed
in this respect, and help with His divine help to overcome it, so
that he may be found an approved laborer in God's vineyard. Amen.