Unprofitable Servants...

We are unprofitable servants

 

And so let us all continue what we have been 

doing for God, the church, others and say:

“We are unprofitable servants;

we have done what we were obliged to do.”

Initially I found this Gospel (Luke 17:7-10) to be somewhat difficult to understand. I would tend to interpret that the master is harsh and lacking in gratitude for what his servant has done for him. But this is not the case. Jesus wants to teach us about the basic attitude of a servant or a worker like us. A servant is simply there to work and to accomplish the household duties that are expected of him/her. His purpose is to correct the way the scribes and Pharisees relate with God. They thought of religion as a contract between master and servant. They performed their religious duties in the hope of getting special reward and better treatment in His kingdom.

            The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church … a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”