”Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’?
“He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?
“So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
Luke 17:7-10 (NASB)
Pride is most certainly despised by God; the Psalmist writes that “the wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4 KJV).
I am a person who struggles 95% of the time with overcoming lethargy and sin in order to bear good fruit, and during the other 5% seem to be doing well. But when I find myself fleeing sin and living a disciplined life full of good deeds, I face what is perhaps the most destructive sin of all—pride.
In some ways, I live like a pagan 95% of the time and a Pharisee in the remaining 5%. It gets rather frustrating. The moment I begin to “do the right things” is the moment I am most succeptible to pride. It’s rather disgusting to realize that you get a sense of righteousness out of the good things you do; a failure to truly believe the gospel or an internal rejection of God’s imputed righteousness causes one to gain a sense of spiritual superiority from the performance of good works.
As I was reading the other day, however, I came across this short passage in Luke’s gospel. Verse ten is what really hit me hard:
“So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
I’ve read through this passage plenty of times, but never have I heard a sermon given on these Scriptures. I’d actually like to hear one.
I understand that one can have false humility in his heart when making the claim to be an “unworthy slave,” but to really have the attitude that a fruitful life is not only encouraged but expected by our Master changes the way I look at life.
I must note that slavery in the ancient world was not exactly like the brutal institution of slavery Americans are familiar with. Some Roman slaves were even doctors and architechts. Slavery then was a life of servitude in exchange for survival; a slave depended on his master for food and shelter, and thus was expected to work.
If I am a slave of Christ, I am expected to live accordingly. Thus, this passage in Luke helps deal with the 95% of my life that I’m struggling as well as the remaining 5% of my life; obedience to God’s commands is a requirement, and therefore I must strive to live up to God’s expectations of me, all while recognizing that meeting those expectations is not credited to me as righteousness. It is God who is Master, God who gives grace, and God who is my righeousness.
