Unworthy servants
Can you remember a time when you thought: “What a difference a day makes”? Writing about today’s topic, unworthy servants, has changed my thinking in an important way. Thanks be to God. The photos show dramatic changes in the early morning sky when Brandon and I went sailing on Saturday—our anniversary.
What a difference a day makes….
Last time on Choosing Peace, we explored The Main Event in our latest Before and After grouping—when Jesus healed the ten lepers. Today we’ll dig into the Before Event—something Jesus taught his disciples. While I’ve read this short passage before, it didn’t stick with me—probably because I didn’t really understand it. Now I do, and it’s radically changed my thinking, for the better.
Thanks for joining us today. Get ready to read about Miss Concrete Thinker, table settings, and a ticker-tape parade.
The teaching
In the gospel recorded by Luke, just before Jesus healed the ten lepers, he was speaking to his disciples. Various translations title this paragraph Unworthy Servants.
“But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say, when he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down at the table’? But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me, while I eat and drink, and afterward you can eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”
Luke 17:7-10, New Heart English Bible
Seeking clarity
The passage above seems, on the surface, to discourage politeness or courtesy among people with disparity in rank or social status. Is that what Jesus was actually getting at? Indeed not. We know Jesus spoke the truth and spoke rightly. Since this passage can be confusing to our modern sensibilities, we need to dig deeper.
We can easily miss the core teaching points. As the saying goes, we can miss the forest for the trees. Honestly, I had to do some reading to begin thinking rightly about this short teaching. I highly recommend these two articles, which provide important clarity:
♦ “What does it mean to be a servant of Christ?”
♦ “How should a Christian view self-esteem?”
Who we thank
Let’s explore The Word of the Hour. How is the word “thank” used in the Bible? “Sacrifice of thanksgiving” and “thank offering” refer to tangible sacrifices or offerings given specifically to thank God, so those uses of the word “thank” definitely relate to having a thankful heart. We find the word “thank” in its many forms (thanking, thanksgiving, thankful) more than 160 times in the Bible.
In the Bible, the word “thank” is used to thank God.
Seven examples of thanks
1. Psalm 9:1
2. Psalm 92:1
3. Psalm 100:4
4. Psalm 107:1
5. Romans 14:5-7
6. 1 Corinthians 15:57
7. Philippians 4:6
The only One
Only once in the 66 books of the Bible does someone use the word “thank” to thank another person. One time. Were people in Bible times rude? Did they lack social graces? To the contrary—those who loved and revered the Lord gave thanks rightly. They understood this fundamental truth: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” (James 1:17a-b, WEB).
They thanked God.
I thank my God whenever I remember you….
Philippians 1:3, New Heart English Bible
Courtesy
I found the word “courtesy” only one time in the ESV translation: Titus 3:1-2. The word shown as “courtesy” is translated as “gentle” in the NIV, “meekness” in the King James Version, and “humility” in the World English Bible. Courtesy, gentleness, meekness and humility communicate deference. “I must decrease so you may increase.” Our focus stays on what would be good for the other person. (Not necessarily appreciated or popular—but good, beneficial, of service.)
Polite society
We in the United States have largely been raised in what we like to call a “polite society.” Never mind the profuse foul language, trashy clothes, and trashy behavior—the pervasively-celebrated sin. We pride ourselves on being polite.
Interestingly enough, you won’t find the word “polite” in the Bible. Or the word “nice.” Since we do find the word “courtesy,” let’s consider the issue of politeness—a related yet distinct concept. Hidden in the word “polite” is the tiny, little word “I,” which can get us in big trouble.
A modern lesson—polite falsehood
When I worked at a public elementary school, the annual Thanksgiving music program always bothered me because the children were never told who they were thanking. God wasn’t allowed. He couldn’t be mentioned. So the Thanksgiving program always came across as “A Lesson in Politeness” instead of “A Lesson in Thanking God.” The children learned the words and sang the songs—“Be Thankful,” “Give Thanks”—but they had no idea who they needed to thank. The whole thing came across as an attitude adjustment or behavior modification instead of planting life-changing truths and teaching children how to truly live—in and for Jesus Christ.
In its own way, the public school’s Thanksgiving program came across as hollow and misleading—telling children to feel thankful or act thankful without telling them (1) who made them, (2) who gave them every good thing, or (3) who gave his life to reconcile them to God. They were basically told to act right—“be polite”—without being told the truth: “God loves you.” “He made plans for your life.” “You were made to bring him glory.”
For a wonderful list of scriptures, scroll down to Created By and For God in this post.
Proper and improper thanks
In part 6, when we unpacked our Main Event, one of the ten lepers turned around and came back to Jesus after realizing he was healed. He praised God loudly and fell at Jesus’ feet, thanking him with his whole heart. And Jesus commended his faith.
We know, innately, that giving thanks—
properly and sincerely—is a good thing.
Let’s focus on proper and improper thanks. There are particular people, places and times when giving thanks is appropriate and others when giving thanks is not appropriate. This has been a challenging teaching for me—and sorely needed.
Employees and students
Why did Jesus teach us that a master shouldn’t thank his servant?
Think of the scenario like a teacher and a student. Teachers do not thank their students for doing their homework. A teacher may rightly say, “Well done.” But it would obviously be inappropriate for a teacher to say, “Thank you for doing your book report.” Students don’t get a participation trophy for doing their schoolwork. It would be akin to telling an employee on a normal work day—with all sincerity: “Thanks for coming to work today.” Excuse me? Not in this lifetime.
Students are at school to learn. If they do their part, they receive knowledge. They don’t get thanked for learning. Likewise, employees, contractors and servants are present to work. If they do their work, they receive one or more forms of provision—pay, insurance, room and board, etc. They don’t get thanked for doing their work—what they were obviously supposed to do.
Good students benefit from appropriate schoolwork. They learn. Good employees, contractors and servants benefit from appropriate work. They receive provision.
Spouse and children
As a wife, I don’t tell Brandon: “Thank you for not cheating on me.” I don’t thank him for honoring a core promise from our wedding vows. Fidelity was pledged and is expected from both of us.
As a mom, I need to thoughtfully replace “thank you” with silence, a rightly-chosen “well done” or a kiss on the head. Our adult son Logan should not receive my knee-jerk reaction—polite praise—for simply doing the right thing. I need to work on this. My mother’s admonishment to “be nice” became a handicap for yours truly AKA Miss Concrete Thinker.
Do your words or thoughts need any tweaking in this area?
The boy-man
The other day, my friend Noelle and I were leaving a restaurant—deep in conversation. Apparently, a man arrived just as we were leaving and opened the door. We didn’t even notice him. He threw a sarcastic fit: “Thank you for opening the door….” What a strange, angry outburst.
I imagine this individual with the name Sir Boyland Manly-Specter, or Sir Boy-Man, for short. I reckon he lives on Chastise Boulevard. Sir Boy-Man considered himself to be oh-so-polite, thus justifying his temper tantrum—I mean tirade—at the recipients of his exemplary politeness. We failed to notice him, thank him and acknowledge how exceptional he was. “How dare you!”
Obviously, Sir Boy-Man knows next to nothing about politeness and quite a bit about entitlement. Give the six-foot-tall boy a participation trophy. While we’re at it, let’s throw Sir Boy-Man a ticker-tape parade with a big, fat banner on the main float: “Politest man in town.”
Sir Boy-Man clearly didn’t open the door to help anyone else or to do the right thing. It was all about him and his need for attention or validation. I prayed for his wife and children, if he has any.
Politeness vs. courtesy
When we’re engaged in conversation, that is not an appropriate time to thank someone else. Interrupting a friend to thank someone outside the group or conversation is actually rude. It would be like taking out my phone and checking my email while someone is talking to me. Not okay. Expressions of gratitude must take into account (1) the other people in the group, (2) who is speaking, and (3) what is happening.
These scenarios call us to the virtue of courtesy, which places the good of the person(s) I’m with above my need to appear polite. Courtesy is a virtue because it’s other-centered. Politeness is not a virtue because it can frequently be tied to people-pleasing or pride, a la Sir Boy-Man. Courtesy requires wisdom; politeness doesn’t.
One of the most important aspects of courtesy
is being present to the people we’re with.
Sir Boy-Man could use a lesson or two in this department, and—dare I say—quite a few others. (See this post to reflect on virtues and their corresponding vices.) I found some valuable lessons on courtesy in this 15-minute video. Sift through the content and retrieve the gems God may have for you. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not dissing politeness or good manners, per se. But we need to aspire to courtesy—the virtue. Courtesy requires more of us. It requires us to think and walk on a higher plane.
Jesus displayed perfection in all things, including boundaries and virtues. We, on the other hand, are definitely works in progress. I don’t know about you, but exploring these issues has certainly helped me.
Unworthy servants
Now it’s time to consider the last part of this teaching.
Does [the head of the house] thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”
Luke 17:9-10, New Heart English Bible
Who’s who
In this passage, Jesus simply asks his disciples—and his followers throughout time—to see ourselves rightly and to see him rightly. Jesus is Lord, Master and King. We are servants—here to serve Jesus Christ. We don’t get a participation trophy or a ticker-tape parade for being obedient and doing what Jesus told us to do. Jesus never begged or pleaded. He spoke with authority—as part of our triune God. Also, God’s commandments reflect his love and tender care for his people. We would be wise to obey.
When an earthly king hosts a banquet, does he stop and thank each servant every time one of them enters the banquet hall to freshen up the food and drinks? Absolutely not. He focuses on his guests. Since he has proper staff in place to manage the kitchen, the serving, the table settings and decorations, the entertainment, the security, the palace and the grounds, the king rightly focuses on his guests and on the success and enjoyment of the event itself. Servants serve. The king leads.
Jesus is our King. He leads. We serve—humbly and obediently.
Receiving the word “unworthy”
Most Christians can comprehend the concept—or, yea verily, the reality—that Jesus is Lord and we are servants. (If you missed it earlier, read this Got Questions article about being servants.)
What about the word “unworthy”? Why are we “unworthy servants”? Needless to say, Jesus never said too many words or too few words. Each and every word was absolute, God Almighty perfection. And we desperately need to receive the word “unworthy”—spoken by Jesus about us.
“Unworthy servants” didn’t apply for the job, pass the test, impress the boss, know the right person, beat out so-and-so for the position and so on. We weren’t chosen to be servants of Jesus Christ because we’re oh-so-smart, talented, humble, well-behaved, penitent, impressive, good-looking, creative, resourceful, exceptional, well-connected or polite. We didn’t garner Jesus’ attention due to our pedigree, performance or potential. We didn’t impress him with our behavior. We didn’t earn our salvation.
Bottom line: It isn’t about us at all. It’s all about Jesus. He calls. He chooses. He saves. And we who belong to him should be falling down on our faces in gratitude and humility.
We are unworthy servants.
Application
How can we apply this teaching in a practical way to our lives? When we serve Jesus by serving others and/or obeying a command he gave us, let’s follow it up with right thinking. “Jesus is my King. I am his servant.” Instead of thinking what a great job we did, how things went or how we feel, we can think or say something like this: “I’m an unworthy servant who did my duty. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for calling, choosing and saving me. I’m yours.”
During the worship service at church yesterday, I said silently: “I’m an unworthy servant” multiple times. It felt good to be in the right mental stance of complete humility. It really did.
The Holy Spirit gave me the perfect closing song below, “Before You I Kneel (A Worker’s Prayer).” I think you’ll love it.
Your turn
Did something in today’s post speak into your life? Into your thoughts? Did the Lord show you an opportunity for growth? Scan the post again if that would be helpful. Then pause quietly, reflect and listen to the Holy Spirit.
Will you think of yourself as an unworthy servant of Jesus this week? Give it a try. See how agreeing with Jesus in this way impacts you—and perhaps those around you.
Seeking and finding
Is God communicating something to you through today’s photos—as the morning sky was transformed from darkness to vibrant colors to the beautiful blue below—in little more than an hour? What do these images tell you about God? Very few people saw this sky, yet it was present. Will you intentionally look for God today and thank him for his goodness?
A prayer of humility
Dear Jesus,
I am your humble, unworthy servant. Thank you so much for giving me life, calling me, choosing me and saving my soul. How may I serve you today?
Bring me ever nearer to you. I love you!
Amen.
Coming next
First, we’ll cover the After Event associated with Jesus healing the ten lepers. Then we’ll explore what The Main Event, today’s Before Event and the After Event teach us, when considered together. How are they related? Is there meaning in the order of events? Come back next time as we continue this series: Exploring the Bible.
Until then, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Closing word and song
“Before You I Kneel (A Worker’s Prayer)” by Keith & Kristyn Getty
More
To stay current on recent posts, sign up for my monthly newsletter.
