Monday, December 8, 2014

The unprofitable servants

Unprofitable Servant is charity without personal gain or profit
Humility is important. It's important because, I think, as humans, we must be humble to our position here on earth. We must be aware that we are all just little blimps on a large planet, and what we do, no matter how great, no matter how powerful, or no matter how small, is just fulfilling our role.

That's right. We all have a role on this planet. We all have a duty. We all have a task we are to accomplish. And there is not one role that is greater than any other. In that sense, we are all equals.

George Washington is a good example of a humble person, as he easily could have made the office of the president similar to a monarchy, although, by his recommendation, the president is humbly referred to as "Mr. President.

His goal was to show that the president is no more valuable to human kind than you or me. We are all equals in that sense. We are, as the Bible explains (Luke 17:7-10) in "The Parable of Jesus," we are all unprofitable servants.
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
Defined, unprofitable servant means that we do what is expected of us and nothing more. We all have a task that we are to accomplish, and we accomplish it, and then we are done. In that sense, we are unprofitable. This is a means for us to keep things in proper perspective: to be humble.

We pray. We are given gifts in life (for example I was given the gift of writing), and we need to use our gift to help our fellow humans.

The neat thing is God does not answer all prayers, nor does he heal all the sick. He answers some prayers, and he heals some of the sick, but never all. Yet he does heal everyone spiritually.

He heals spiritually by allowing us to be in Heaven if we are good in this life. No matter how much we suffer, we are given that great reward. That's the best gift of all. That's the best healing power. In that regard, there is nothing we can accomplish on earth more profitable than that. We are, therefore, unprofitable.

Yet there are other gifts, or healings, that are less valuable, such as property and material things like money and other riches and communication skills, math skill, wisdom about asthma and writing skills, all the Internet. These are gifts we are given so we can make the world better -- but never better than how Jesus left it when he ascended into Heaven.

When this occurred he gave the Holy Spirit to all who chose to accept it.  By the Holy Spirit anyone who believes is a prophet.  As prophets it is our duty to learn and interpret the Word of the Lord.

Not all who are prophets are rich, or healthy all the time, or are healed when they pray for healing. Some of the best and greatest prophets of the Lord, some of the greatest and most useful people on this planet, have nothing at all but spiritual gifts. They live in poverty.


Most humans are unprofitable servants. That means we do what is expected of us and nothing more. The Lord gives us each an assignment, and it is up to us to accomplish the goals He sets out for us. Which basically means we do what is expected of us.

All the good we do as human beings, no matter how good, will never be as good as what Jesus did for us. Therefore, we are not profitable.  We are not masters. We are servants.

In this sense, we are humbled. And we use our gifts to make this world a better place, each in our own humble way.

No comments:

Post a Comment