‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.When I was training for my first management job we had a class on the core values of the company. They included things like honesty, trust, and integrity. Of course each value was defined in how the company wanted us to think of them. For example honesty was sharing what was going on whether it was good or not and Integrity was doing the right thing especially when nobody is watching.
It's the definition for trust I recalled when I read today's passage. Trust as defined by this company is to always do what you say you will do. Isn't this how trust is built? If you are in a relationship with someone and they never or rarely do what they say they will do, how much will you believe them as time goes on? As the company also reminded us because we are persons of authority we have a certain level of trust which we are expected to have.
This is what I think Jesus means in the telling of this story. John the Baptizer came and told them all what was about to happen and those in power did not believe him. Instead they just kept on treating people the same way they have been taught; clean vs. unclean. The "outcasts" of Jesus times believed John, especially after they saw what Jesus was doing and how he treated them. But the leaders and those in power did not believe.
Jesus uses the persona of John as an example of someone doing what they say they will do and therefore as someone who is to be trusted. It would seem he is also making reference to the leaders of that time and place by, once again, reminding them they do not do as they say and therefore cannot be trusted.
Take a close look at the people who ask for your trust and think to yourself, "Do they do what they say they will do?" Then take a look at yourself and ask, "Do I do as I say I will do?"
The answer may surprise you.
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