In verses 7 and 8 the Lord continued, “Which of you, having a slave who is plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, Come immediately and recline at table? Will he not rather say to him, Prepare something that I may dine, and gird yourself and serve me until I eat and drink; and after that you will eat and drink?” This means that no matter how much we accomplish by faith, we have no ground for boasting. Our problem is that either we fall into discouragement, or we become proud. Once we become proud, we consider that others are not up to the standard and are not acceptable. Hence, after speaking concerning faith, the Lord gave the example of a slave in order to touch our pride. When we realize that it is not a matter of increasing our faith but of seeing that we have faith, then we are standing on a foundation and are equipped to accomplish things. When we realize that even a small amount of faith is our capital, we will be able to accomplish many things by this faith. Once we grasp this key, we will be able to accomplish many things. Regrettably, we still are complicated people, because it is easy to be discouraged or proud. We cannot pretend. A brother who is discouraged can also be proud. Even if he is not intentionally proud, his self-righteous attitude and high regard for himself are expressions of pride. Here are some examples. One brother might say that he does not know how to study the Bible, but another brother might give thanks to the Lord and say that he knows how to study the Bible. One sister might say that she does not know how to receive a burden from the Lord, but another sister might say that it is easy for her to be enlightened and receive a burden. One brother might say that he is confused and is not advancing spiritually; hence, he is discouraged. Another brother might say that it is easy for him to touch the Lord and that he always senses the Lord’s presence when he prays. In Luke 17:5-10 the Lord said that even if our faith is small, we will be able to accomplish many things, but we must not forget that we are still slaves. This means that even if our faith enables us to sow the seed of the gospel, to shepherd the flock of God, and to edify the saints, we should not be proud and boast about our service. We should not say that since we have accomplished much, we should eat and be satisfied. We cannot enjoy or boast of our achievements yet. After we plow and tend the sheep—that is, preach the gospel and shepherd the saints—we should still serve the Lord in order for Him to be satisfied first. After He is satisfied, we can have a little satisfaction and enjoyment. In addition, we should have the attitude that we are useless slaves and that we have done what we should have done. On the one hand, such an attitude will save us so that we may be one with the Lord. On the other hand, it will preserve us from being discouraged or proud. We are not discouraged, because the Lord has chosen us and given us a small amount of faith as our capital. With this capital we serve Him. If we obtain results, we are not proud, because we realize that no matter what we do, we are unprofitable slaves. This matter concerning faith must be deeply wrought into our being. The reason we can serve the Lord is that He has put a small measure of faith within us as our capital, not because of anything else. Who among us can say that he does not have faith? We have been chosen and called by God; hence, no matter how pitiful our condition is, there is faith in us. This small faith is our capital. We must not be discouraged, because it is sufficient to have faith. This faith enables us to do many things. The Lord is wise. He knows that when we are enlightened, have learned some lessons, and gained results, we can veer off to the extreme of being proud. We will think that we are able to plow and tend the sheep, and as a result, our pride and self-content will surface. Hence, the Lord said that even if we plow and tend the sheep, we still cannot eat when we come in. This means that we cannot seek our satisfaction first or desire our own enjoyment. We should wait on the Lord with an empty stomach and allow Him to be satisfied first. Not only so, we should humble ourselves and say, “Lord, I am an unprofitable slave. Even though I plowed and tended the sheep, I have no ground to boast. I did what I should have done.” The two problems of being discouraged and being proud are present among those who serve the Lord. A substantial number of co-workers feel that they are pitiful because they cannot give a message or do anything else. Therefore these ones are worried and discouraged. However, a small number of co-workers have a different situation. Instead of waiting on the Lord humbly and saying, “Lord, we are unprofitable slaves, and we have done only a little,” they say, “We plow and tend the sheep, we receive light and vision when we read the Bible, and we are able to do this and that.” These two attitudes are present among us. Some are worried and discouraged, but others are proud and full of self-esteem. Both situations need the Lord’s mercy, because we have nothing to be discouraged about, and we have nothing to be proud of.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 12:17:56 +0000
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