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Bishop Soc Villegas
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ON SERVANT LEADERSHIP
(Part 13)
UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS
November 10, 2009
Today’s gospel reading (Lk 17:7-10) teaches us about our proper
posture as servant leaders. The following reflection is taken from my
new book Servant Leadership, chapter 16.
Servants are important to a master. A master gets things done by having
servants do tasks for him. We too are called to serve God, and as such
are important to Him. In fact, though God can and does act directly in
the lives of people, most of the time He acts in and through human
instruments.
Now problems come when the instrument given the privilege to serve and
empowered by the master for service begins to think that he, having done
great things, is himself great. When such pride comes in, the fall
inevitably follows. God wants to avoid this, so as to keep His servants
functioning well so that He can accomplish His plan for the world.
The key is in the servant being constantly aware of who he is before the
Master, and of knowing that apart from the Master he can do nothing. If
the servant simply obeys and knows his place, then he will be used by
the Master and be blessed.
The attitude of a servant
Jesus himself illustrated the proper attitude of a servant.
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“Who among you would
say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending
sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at
table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for
me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that
servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are
unprofitable[1] servants; we have done what we were obliged to
do.’”[2] (Lk 17:7-10)
A first observation is that
it would seem Jesus is quite harsh, perhaps even cruel. After all,
servants, even with their lowly status, should be afforded proper
respect and due consideration.
To think that is to miss the meaning of being a servant, or a slave,
during those olden times. Today we think of a servant, or perhaps an
employee, as someone who has rights, is paid justly, has set hours of
work, enjoys vacation and other privileges, or can even go on strike. It
was not that way in Jesus’ time. The so-called servants during those
days were actually slaves. They may have been taken captive in a war or
in a raid on a village, and then sold in the marketplace as a slave.
Once purchased, they became the property of the owner. They had no
rights, no identity, and could not complain if they were overworked or
not fed.
So when Jesus told his disciples about a servant being called by his
master from the field and told to recline at table for a meal, his
listeners might have burst out in laughter and engaged in good-natured
ribbing. Such was simply unthinkable. When the laughter died down, Jesus
then told it as it really is. What the servant needed to do, even after
a hard day’s labor out in the field, would be to serve the master at
his meal. Only after the master finished could the servant have his own
meal.
But there is more. The master did not even have to thank the servant for
his service. Why? The servant was only doing what was expected of him.
He was only doing his duty. He was only following orders.
Then the clincher. The servant’s own posture is simply to accept that
he is worthless or unprofitable. It was not a question of what service
he rendered, or of how valuable he had been to the master, or how much
he had sacrificed. Rather, it was simply a question of who he was. He
was a slave, a nobody, one with no rights. He was one who did not need
to be thanked or acknowledged.
The attitude of a servant leader
We are servants of Jesus, our Lord and Master. We had been under the
dominion of the evil one, a situation of slavery to darkness and sin.
Jesus redeemed us with his blood. He purchased us, and we now belong
totally to him.
As such, our proper attitude is the same as that of the slave. In
serving God, we are to expend ourselves, we are not to look to our
convenience or comfort, we are not to demand wages or perquisites, and
we should not expect to be thanked. We are only doing what we ought to
do.
In fact, if anyone is to be thanked, it should be we the servants
thanking Jesus the Master. Jesus has given us the privilege to do his
very own work, to participate in that very wonderful task of proclaiming
him to the world, to care for the very people whom he died for and
saved, to help bring people to their eternal destiny in heaven. Jesus
allows us to stand in his very own place, caring for his very own flock.
Such is a privilege like no other.
Such an attitude should manifest itself in different ways in our
service.
-
We serve without
counting the cost, ready to bear any sacrifice.
-
We do not serve
according to our own priorities or interests.
-
We are totally obedient
to the Master, following his directions without question.
-
We think of nothing else
but serving the Master, and how we can be pleasing to him.
-
We do not look to being
thanked, and many times might be unappreciated or even rejected by
the very people we serve.
-
We always realize the
great privilege we have been given in serving God.
-
We rejoice in our holy
slavery to Jesus.
The attitude of Jesus
Our attitude is clear: we are merely servants or slaves of Christ. We
must know our proper place.
But here is something very important. Jesus is not a cruel taskmaster.
He is in fact everything to the contrary.
-
Though he owns us, he
respects our free will.
-
Though he is the Master,
he washes our feet.
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Though we are his
slaves, he has made us his friends (Jn 15:15).
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Though we are worthless,
he has endowed us with dignity and honor as his own brethren.
-
Though he holds our
lives in his hands, he is the one who gave his own life for our
sakes.
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Though we are unworthy,
he has entrusted the very gift of salvation into our hands.
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Though we should serve
him at table, he allows us to eat and drink at his table in his
kingdom (Lk 22:30).
Only the divine Master
treats human servants in this way. In that lie our great privilege and
joy.
[1] Other translations have
“useless,” “unworthy,” or “worthless.”
[2] Other translations have “our duty” or “what we ought to have
done.”
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