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.”
