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This week we turn our attention to Luke chapter 17. Please read verses 1-19 every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word
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Luke 17:7-10 (The Message)
‘”Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from ploughing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”’
Some years ago, I worked with a lady whose attitude to work was quite remarkable. The company I work for is great with a relaxed atmosphere and wonderful colleagues. However, this one lady had a ‘chip on her shoulder’ and expected something from everyone as if the world owed her a favour.
Most days she would arrive at work late and yet she wouldn’t accept that this was unprofessional. Her attitude was that we should be grateful that she’d turned up at all! In her opinion she was doing a great job and should be thanked for everything she did for the company. The generous salary was never good enough for her and she complained about the quantity and quality of the work produced by everyone else. When she was asked to do any work, she would expect her manager to send an email to her and her colleagues expressing their gratitude and praising her for the work completed. Needless to say that she had problems with every manager and I’m amazed that she remained with the company for as long as she did.
The parable that Jesus uses today has caused some confusion among some people and this has led to incorrect interpretation. Here in these verses, we see Jesus saying that no master would wait on the servant and yet in Luke 12, Jesus says that He would do exactly that. Some people therefore think that this is a contradiction however, we have to realise that Jesus is speaking to all of His disciples here and is highlighting an ‘attitude to work’. In Luke 12, He is referring to His return and the reward for His ‘servants’. They are two very different things and therefore there is no contradiction.
I believe that Jesus is speaking directly into the hearts of His disciples and teaching them to maintain a right spirit. There is a massive difference between slaves and servants. We ought not to seek any praise or even any gratitude for the service we are engaged in. In my story earlier, the lady was always looking for thanks for the work she was involved in but in reality, she should have been thanking the company for the employment! I’m reminded of the parable of ‘The Lost Son’, where the elder brother says to his father – “all these years I’ve been slaving for you”. In reality, the work being done was in service to his father, but the son’s attitude toward the work actually meant that he possessed a spirit of a slave.
In the Kingdom of God, we are called to be servants of the Most High God and to carry out our duties with gladness and with a humble and contrite spirit. May we continually serve Him with joy, love and gratitude. He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and so our hearts can resound with praise for all that He has done for us.
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