Hireling Mindset (Wednesday, Week 20, Year II)

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Through Ezekiel (34:1-11), God took the shepherds of Israel to task for feeding on the sheep instead of feeding the sheep.  A better word that qualifies a bad shepherd is a hireling. The interest of the hireling shepherd is to feed on the sheep, not to feed the sheep. A true shepherd takes the sheep as his own and must be ready and willing to sacrifice his life for the sake of the sheep, but a hireling shepherd sacrifices the lives of the sheep for his gains.  In simple and clear terms, a hireling is purely intent on the amount of money or the material gains that he will make, not on the quality of service that he ought to render.

Many of us work with a hireling mindset: the quality of the work or services that we do or render is purely determined by the material gains we expect to make. Sometimes, we even relate with God, worship or serve Him on the basis of the material benefits that we expect to get. For many of us, we must be rewarded materially for fasting, for paying tithes, for giving to charity, for praying, even for going to Church, and so on. That kind of mindset is a hireling mindset. It is not a mindset of a true servant. Those laborers in today’s gospel account (Matthew 20:1-16a) who were hired earlier than others begrudged the generosity of their master because they came to work for gains, not to render good service with pure and loving hearts. If they really had the mindset of a true servant, they would not have complained when latecomers received the same pay which they received. 

God owes us nothing. Whatever he does for us is purely out of love and generosity. If we must serve or worship Him, let us do so with pure hearts, not with a hireling mentality.
     

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