The Highest Standard of Service: The Mystery of the "Unprofitable" Servant
Introduction
In the professional world, performance evaluations are a standard practice. An employee is usually graded on a scale:
• Satisfactory: They meet the basic expectations of the job.
• Excepcional: They perform with excellence.
• Superior: They consistently do more than what was required or expected.
In secular life, the "Superior" rating is the pinnacle because the individual exceeded their duty. But what happens when we translate this concept to the Christian life? As believers, we are called doulos—servants or bondslaves of God. This leads us to a profound question: What is the maximum we can do for God?
In Luke 17:1–10, Jesus provides a counter-intuitive and humbling answer that shatters our human concepts of merit and recognition.
I. The Context: The Duties of a Disciple (vv. 1–9)
Before Jesus reaches His conclusion in verse 10, He lays out four rigorous "job descriptions" for the believer. These are not suggestions; they are the baseline of Christian living.
1. Guarding the Path: Not Being a Stumbling Block (vv. 1–2)
The disciple must live with extreme spiritual caution. To cause a "little one" to sin is so grave that Jesus suggests a millstone around the neck is a better fate.
• Doctrine: Personal holiness is not just for yourself; it is a protective wall for others (1 Corinthians 10:32).
2. Radical Forgiveness (vv. 3–4)
If a brother sins seven times in a day and returns seven times saying "I repent," the disciple must forgive.
• Doctrine: Forgiveness is the evidence of a regenerated heart. If we do not forgive, we reveal that we have not truly grasped how much we have been forgiven (Matthew 6:14–15; Colossians 3:13).
3. Persistent Growth in Faith (vv. 5–6)
When the apostles heard these demands, they cried out, "Increase our faith!" Jesus replied that even faith the size of a mustard seed can move sycamore trees.
• Doctrine: Spiritual growth is a mandate. Faith is strengthened through the Word (Romans 10:17) and constant exercise in grace (2 Peter 3:18).
4. Serving Without Seeking Applause (vv. 7–9)
Jesus uses the illustration of a servant coming in from the field. The master does not say, "Sit down and eat first." No, the servant is expected to prepare the master’s meal and serve him before eating himself.
• Doctrine: Christian service is a duty, not a favor we do for God. In the Kingdom, the path to greatness is the path of a servant (Mark 9:35; Galatians 5:13).
II. The Central Principle: "Unprofitable" Servants (v. 10)
"So you also, when you have marked out everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy [unprofitable] servants; we have only done our duty.'"
1. What Does "Unprofitable" Mean?
In the Greek text, the word is achreios. It does not mean "worthless" or "useless" in the sense of having no value. Rather, it means:
• We have not done anything beyond our duty.
• We have not added any "profit" or essential benefit to God.
The Sovereignty of God: God is self-sufficient. He does not need our service. He is not served by human hands as if He lacked anything (Acts 17:25). He made us; we did not make ourselves (Psalm 100:3). Nothing we do increases His essential glory; we are simply reflecting back what He gave us.
2. The Maximum We Can Be
Think of the most "productive" Christian life: one that never stumbles, forgives every offense, moves mountains with faith, practices hospitality (Hebrews 13:2), helps the needy (Galatians 6:10), cares for orphans (James 1:27), and preaches the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Mark 16:15).
If a person does all of that perfectly, Jesus says the correct response is: "I have only done my duty."
III. Doctrinal Implications
1. The Impossibility of "Extra Credit"
We can never put God in our debt. We can never do "more" than we ought to because:
• Every breath we take is His gift.
• Every ability we have is His grace.
• Every opportunity we find is His providence. 1 Corinthians 4:7 asks the humbling question: "What do you have that you did not receive?"
2. The Death of Spiritual Pride
This text is a "pride-killer." If doing everything perfectly leaves us as "unprofitable servants," how much more humble should we be when we consider how often we fail? This destroys:
• Ministerial ego.
• The "God owes me" mentality.
• The comparison trap (looking down on others who "do less").
3. Obedience is a Debt of Love, Not a Merit
We are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8–9). Therefore, we do not obey to earn a seat at the table; we obey because we have already been given a seat by the blood of Christ.
IV. Practical Applications
1. Evaluate Your Motives: Are you serving for the "Thank You," or because He is Lord?
2. Abandon Comparisons: Do not measure your "satisfactory" against someone else's "poor." Measure your life against the standard of the Master.
3. Serve with Humility: Do your work in the church, the home, and the world "as for the Lord" (Colossians 3:23), seeking His pleasure alone.
- What Sin Does to Us
- How to Be a Godly Father to Your Son
- Biblical Proof That God is Always by Our Side
Conclusion
We return to our opening question: What is the maximum we can be as servants of God?
The answer is both simple and shattering: The maximum we can be is obedient. We can never be "Superior" in God's evaluation in the sense of exceeding His requirements, because His requirement is already everything—all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
When we have done our very best, we have not done God a favor; we have simply fulfilled the purpose for which we were created. Let us serve, then, not with the pride of a "star employee," but with the joy of a servant who loves his Master and realizes that the privilege of serving Him is a reward in itself.
