Luke 17:6-10: a reflection

6The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say when he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down at the table’? 8Wouldn’t he rather tell him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink’? 9Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? I think not. 10Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”

Jesus tells his disciples that even when they have done everything they were commanded, they should claim no merit, but say, we are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty. When you have done all the things that are commanded you, Jesus says, say, we are unworthy servants. We have done our duty. He compares them to a servant who, after working in the field, comes in and serves his master, and is not thanked as though he had done something extraordinary; he has simply done what a servant does. So it is with us before God: even when we have done all he commands, we have not put him in our debt or earned his gratitude; we have only done our duty. There is no room for a claim of merit. This shows serving God humbly, claiming no merit even when we have done all commanded. When you have done all God commands, claim no merit; you have only done your duty. We cannot put God in our debt by our obedience. Serve God humbly, without a sense that he owes you. Even our best obedience is only our duty, not a favor to God.

Notice the humbling perspective Jesus gives on our service. He pictures a servant who has worked hard in the field all day; when he comes in, he does not expect to be waited on and thanked as though he had done something beyond his duty; he simply serves his master, having done what a servant is there to do. And Jesus applies this to us before God: even when we have done all the things we were commanded, everything, we should say, we are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty. There is no room here for a sense that we have done God a favor, put him in our debt, or earned his special gratitude by our obedience. Even our fullest obedience is only what we owe. This corrects a subtle pride that can creep into our service of God. We can begin to feel, when we have obeyed, served, and done what is right, that we have thereby earned something, put God in our debt, done him a favor for which he owes us. But Jesus says otherwise: even when we have done all he commands, we have only done our duty; we are unworthy servants, not creditors. This does not diminish the value of obedience, but it removes the pride and the sense of merit, keeping us humble. We serve God not to put him in our debt, but because it is our duty and our glad service; and even our best is only what we owe. We do well to serve God humbly, claiming no merit, saying even after all our obedience, we have only done our duty. Serve God humbly, claiming no merit even when you have done all he commands. You cannot put God in your debt by your obedience. Even your fullest obedience is only your duty, not a favor to God. Say, after all you have done, we are unworthy servants who have done our duty.

That is worth taking to heart, for even when we have done all God commands, we have only done our duty and can claim no merit, as Jesus taught. We can feel that our obedience puts God in our debt; but Jesus says that even after doing all commanded, we are unworthy servants who have only done our duty. Claim no merit. Do not serve God with a sense that he owes you; serve humbly, knowing that even your fullest obedience is only your duty, not a favor to God. Serve God humbly, claiming no merit even when you have done all he commands, saying that you are an unworthy servant who has only done your duty, as Jesus told his disciples that even when they had done everything commanded they should claim no merit but say they were unworthy servants who had only done their duty, comparing them to a servant who after working in the field comes in and serves his master and is not thanked as though he had done something extraordinary but has simply done what a servant does; for so it is with us before God, that even when we have done all he commands we have not put him in our debt or earned his gratitude but have only done our duty, with no room for a claim of merit, which corrects a subtle pride that can creep into our service, since we can begin to feel when we have obeyed and done what is right that we have thereby earned something and put God in our debt, but Jesus says otherwise, that even when we have done all he commands we have only done our duty and are unworthy servants and not creditors, which does not diminish the value of obedience but removes the pride and sense of merit and keeps us humble, since we serve God not to put him in our debt but because it is our duty and glad service and even our best is only what we owe, so that we do well to serve God humbly, claiming no merit.

Lord Jesus, you tell your disciples that even when they have done everything they were commanded, they should claim no merit, but say, we are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty. When you have done all the things that are commanded you, you say, say, we are unworthy servants. We have done our duty. You compare them to a servant who, after working in the field, comes in and serves his master, and is not thanked as though he had done something extraordinary; he has simply done what a servant does. So it is with me before God: even when I have done all he commands, I have not put him in my debt or earned his gratitude; I have only done my duty. There is no room for a claim of merit. Show me the humbling perspective you give on my service. You picture a servant who has worked hard all day; when he comes in, he does not expect to be waited on and thanked as though he had done something beyond his duty; he simply serves his master, having done what a servant is there to do. And you apply this to me before God: even when I have done all I was commanded, everything, I should say, I am an unworthy servant; I have only done my duty. There is no room here for a sense that I have done God a favor, put him in my debt, or earned his special gratitude. Even my fullest obedience is only what I owe. This corrects a subtle pride that can creep into my service of you. I can begin to feel, when I have obeyed and done what is right, that I have thereby earned something, put you in my debt, done you a favor for which you owe me. But you say otherwise: even when I have done all you command, I have only done my duty; I am an unworthy servant, not a creditor. This does not diminish the value of obedience, but it removes the pride and the sense of merit, keeping me humble. Take that to my heart. Keep me from serving you with a sense that you owe me; help me serve you humbly, Lord, claiming no merit, knowing that even my fullest obedience is only my duty, and saying, after all I have done, that I am an unworthy servant who has only done his duty.