A New Favorite Verse

So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.

Luke 17:10

This verse has stuck out to me lately probably mostly because of the normalcy of it. We are just to live well, doing our duty for the Lord, by His grace impacting those around us—our generation and perhaps even beyond our generation. We are to live faithfully. If you go back and read some of the verses before this passage, you’ll see that the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. After talking about faith even as small as a mustard seed, he pointed them to service and the fact that they are to be servants faithfully doing what the Master has commanded of them.

We are servants. We are not volunteers. We are not philanthropists. We are unprofitable servants. Dr. MacArthur points out in his study notes that the term “unprofitable servant” comes with the understanding that we are not worthy of any special honor. As servants, we have been asked to do something and we should do it. Nothing is expected of volunteers or philanthropists, and therefore, they are praised when they contribute to the world. Something is expected of servants. Servants have been given a duty to perform—tasks to finish. When the tasks are finished, nothing need be said. We need not expect Jesus to fall over with appreciation for us. We don’t have to wait for a pat on the back from God. The Holy Spirit doesn’t owe us any warm fuzzies.

You and I are unprofitable servants. Even the Calvins, the Luthers, the Pipers, the MacArthurs, the Spurgeons of this world are simply unprofitable servants. They have only done their duty. Isn’t that interesting? Sometimes we think that there are some giants of the faith that have gone above and beyond what was ever expected. In our minds, we convert them from servants to spiritual philanthropists because of their immense contributions. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be appreciative of all that God has allowed them to do. We should be incredibly grateful for the far-reaching ministries that they have had by God’s grace. But we also must keep in mind, that no matter how far the Lord takes us in this life, no matter how big our ministry is, how many churches are planted, how many souls are saved, who we minister too, how many mission fields we traverse, how many books we write, or how many people we counsel, we remain unprofitable servants who have only done our duty.

In light of our great Master, the immense grace of the Cross, and the unthinkable love and forgiveness granted us, it is a blessing to even be granted the opportunity to do our duty as unprofitable servants.