There is such a thing as unfaithful service. What does that look like? We’re given an example in the parable of the talents in Luke 19:11-27.
It goes like this: a nobleman has to leave his country to receive a kingdom. Before he sets off, he gathers ten of his servants and gives them each a portion of his treasure (a mina—about three months’ wages) to do business on his behalf while he is away. So the man leaves, is crowned as king and then returns to his country.
On his return, he starts making enquiries about his business affairs and the work of his servants. Calling them in, he’s made aware of two servants who have been successful with the portion of treasure that he had left them to manage. One has increased the mina ten times and the other five times. The king is delighted and rewards them with what appears to be a disproportionate bonus—one will have authority over ten cities and the other over five.
But then he speaks to a third servant, and his report could not be more different. This servant stands before the king with the mina in his hand, reporting that he kept it wrapped in a handkerchief and buried in the ground.
Before the king can ask why, the servant just comes out with it: “I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow” (v 21).
Why did the servant believe this about the nobleman, when he was clearly a generous master who rewarded his servants richly for their work? The clue might be found in verse 14: “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’”
It sounds as if the unfaithful servant had forgotten his role and duty to the king as servant, and instead had been influenced by the citizens’ feelings and believed their lies. Or maybe the servant’s excuses were exactly that—excuses—because if he had really been afraid, surely he would have at least put the money in the bank and made some interest.
His defensive words condemned him as a wicked servant, and as a result he was left with nothing.
He didn’t do business because he didn’t love the king. He didn’t value what he had been given, and he didn’t value the one who had asked him to serve.
Unfaithful service is what happens when we don’t love our King, Jesus. We believe lies about him, we forget who he has made us to be, and we lose sight of the value of what he has given us.
Our unfaithfulness in service could be passivity, as with this servant—or doing the bare minimum, serving in the way that maintains the most possible comfort and requires the least possible sacrifice.
Unfaithful service is what happens when we don’t love our King, Jesus. We believe lies about him, we forget who he has made us to be, and we lose sight of the value of what he has given us.
Alternatively, it could be doing a lot... but with a grumbling heart, a self-righteous spirit or an entitled attitude. It is an approach to serving that means we’re making it all about us rather than about God or other people:
“Do people realise how long I have been here for?”
“Where is everyone? I’ve left my family at home to do this.”
“No one notices what I do for this place.”
“If I wasn’t here this church would fall apart.”
These are all things I have thought or even said at times over the years. They have not pleased my Saviour, and they have robbed me of the joy of serving God and his church. But then I have to remember that I am saved by grace, not through my work or my attitude to my work.
We put to use the time, gifts and opportunities he has given us, to serve the church and the world, which so desperately needs him, and we do it gladly because we’re doing it for him.
There is always forgiveness and a fresh start, and God’s Spirit is at work to reorient our motivations back to faithfulness and love. Jesus has ascended to be with the Father, and one day he will return. While we await that return, we do business on his behalf with the portion of treasure that he has given us.
We put to use the time, gifts and opportunities he has given us, to serve the church and the world, which so desperately needs him, and we do it gladly because we’re doing it for him. We do it each day, sustained by the gospel, following the example of Jesus, knowing that we’re getting nearer to the day when we will meet him.
By grace he will welcome us in, and for each act of humble, willing, loving service, he will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”. That thought is enough to sustain us in our serving!
This article is an extract from the short, practical book Serve by Steve Robinson. It’s great for reading on your own or discussing in a small group. Access the free small group kit here.
Let the gospel of Jesus and the example of Jesus motivate you to serve your church sacrificially.
Steve Robinson is Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church in Liverpool and Director of the Cornerstone Collective. He also leads the Acts29 church-planting network in the UK. Steve is married to Sian, and they have four children. He's a passionate Liverpool supporter.
