Which type of servant

Which type of servant

Matthew 24:45-51

Scripture:

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. ⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. ⁵⁰ The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Observation:

At the end of His prophecy of the end times and His second coming, the Lord gives His disciples a curious parable. The picture given is of a servant put in charge by his master to be in charge of all the servants in His household, with the specific responsibility of giving them their food at the proper time. Now this servant has two choices leading to very different outcomes. Firstly, he can be faithful and wise and discharge his responsibility faithfully. If at any time the Master comes back, He will be pleased and even put him in charge of all His possessions.  Secondly, this same servant could also choose to say to himself “Aah, my Master is away a long time” and proceed to beat his fellow servants and indulge himself in drink with drunkards. When his master returns, at an hour not expected, the punishment is death, for he will be cut to pieces and assigned a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, which is an expression the Lord uses time and again to depict the situation in hell.

The first thing we gather from this passage is that we are all servants when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Master and we are His servants. We are to serve Him, to worship Him. Too often, the gospel has been turned the other way around so that it seems like God is serving us. The popular “Cat and Dog theology” concept explains this most precisely. The cat says “You feed me and take care of me, I must be god” while the god says “You feed me and take care of me, You must be God”. We are not on earth just to be blessed by God, though that is one primary aspect of being a Christian. We are on earth because we are to serve God, and it must be our daily goal to see how we may serve Him more and more. Service is not confined to missionary service or service in Church, but in our whole lifestyle, in the way we treat others, in the thoughts that we think, in the words that we say, in the prayers that we pray, in the thanksgiving and praise that we give God. A non-serving Christian is a paradox in itself.

What is the demeanor of a servant? Humble, helpful, polite, regarding others as better than ourselves. However, too often, we are arrogant, easily angry and unwilling to help others. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many, we too who follow Jesus need to learn to serve.

The specific duty for the servant in question was to provide food for his fellow servants at the proper time. The unspoken meaning here refers to how we treat those lower than us. There are poor among us. Do we care for their needs? Do we provide for the hungry? In another parable, the Lord says that what we did not do for them, we did not do for Him, and vice versa. It is good and important for us who follow Christ to be involved in giving to ministries that serve the poor and marginalized of society. Nevertheless, in regard to service, we are to be faithful in whatever area God has commissioned us, with our hearts pure in seeking to please Him in all that we do.

On the other side, the behavior of beating up people doesn’t seem relevant to most of us. However, the root of this behavior is anger and unforgiveness. Do we shout and scream at waiters or staff because of “poor customer service?” Do we hold grudges? Do we harbor unforgiveness and anger in our hearts? Beware the Lord’s warning that even He who says “you fool” is in danger of the fire of hell, and that God will not forgive those who do not forgive others. Getting drunk with drunkards is probably a foreign possibility for most of us, however the root of this behavior is self-indulgence and lack of self-control. Have we allowed the lusts and desires of the world to so indulge us that we end up valuing them more than the things of God. The world of entertainment with PayTV, Ipads and Iphones offer great temptations to lure us away from seeking God and serving Him.

Application:-

We need to check ourselves to see if we have the mindset and attitude of a servant of Jesus Christ. Is it our desire to seek God and to serve Him? Or is it our desire to serve ourselves and our indulgences? Are we obedient to forgive and change our angry ways? When the Lord returns, will He find us serving Him faithfully or will He find us indulging ourselves and not showing love to our neighbors?

Prayer:

We praise and worship You Father God, for Your great and glorious love. We thank You, Lord for calling us to be Your Servants, to learn to serve You as our Lord and Master. Quicken our spirit we pray and give us that deep desire to want to know You more, to serve You more, to love You more. So abide in us we pray, that we live a life out of Your presence, letting Your Spirit flow through us to bless others, to serve others, to serve Your Holy name. Lead us away from temptations we pray, teach us to be focused on You alone, letting the things of the world recede and fade away. In Jesus name, Amen.