I Want to be a Worker

 To be a Christian is to be a servant. Romans 6 explains that all souls are slaves to something- whether we are slaves to sinful desires or slaves of righteousness in service to God. The Christian should no longer be consumed with fulfilling their own desire, but in advancing the cause of their Master. 

In the parable of the talents (Mt. 25), the master leaves his goods in the hands of three servants. To one he gives five talents, to another he gives two, and to a third he gives one. The first two servants put their talents to work and doubled their value before the return of the master. The third servant buried his talent. Upon the return of the master, the third servant is described as “wicked and lazy” and an “unprofitable servant”, and is thrown into outer darkness. 

The lesson of the parable is clear: servants of the Lord are expected to work! Servanthood is not a passive lifestyle. The servants in the parable were not given explicit commands as to what to do with the talents they were to steward. Yet, they were aware of the character of their lord; that he was a “hard man, reaping where he had not sown, and gathering where he had not scattered seed” (Mt. 25:24). 

The two profitable servants didn’t need explicit orders on how to be profitable. Their attitudes were driven to work and to advance the wealth of the master. Their desires were to be the best servants they could be “according to their ability” (Mt. 25:15). 

When the master returned, the lazy servant offered back the same amount he was given to steward: “Look there you have what is yours” (Mt. 25:25). This is reflective of what seems to be the default attitude of many: “I have done enough”. 

Teachers know that when a student asks how many pages an essay must be, what the student really wants to know is how little work they can get away with doing. What is enough? When Jesus called His apostles, He warned them of the cost of following Him. Included in this discourse is one of the most humbling statements in the Bible. “It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master” (Mt. 10:25). 

Jesus did not have the attitude of wanting to do the bare minimum that was required of Him, but rather emptied Himself completely in service to those who were yet His enemies (Rom. 5:6-8). Though He was equal with God, He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men… He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:7-8). 

This pattern of humility and service is part of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Jesus taught His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mt. 15:24). To follow Jesus, one must deny their own will, put that will to death, and replace it with God’s will. Following Jesus requires us to follow His example of servanthood. 

Jesus taught very plainly that “even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (I Jn 3:16). John uses this comparison to develop the idea that love isn’t about talking or feeling, it’s about deed and truth (18). 

There is no such thing as an “unprofitable, wicked and lazy servant” who is also a disciple of Christ. One cannot follow after Him without a desire to work and to serve, “each according to his ability.” So let’s get to work!