Luke 17:7-10 And which of you. having a servant plowing or tending sheep will say to him, when he has come in from the field, 'come at once and sit down to eat. But will he not rather say to him, 'prepare something for my supper, and grid yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 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.
This passage will be better understood by people from an eastern culture than by people from a western culture. I haven't heard a message preached on this scripture and is not popular among people at the present time. It is unfathomable to the modern day Christians that you don't have to be appreciated to do God's work. Every one wants to be appreciated. Have you seen pastors after worship on a Sunday morning say let us give a great clap for the worship team for a good performance? We have a pastors' appreciation day every year, I know people will scoff at me for saying this, I don't have a problem with pastors paid for their position. Bible says in 1 Timothy 5:18 For Scripture says, " Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages." If you are called by God to do His work, you do it whether people appreciate you or not without complaints. The bible says in Ecclesiastes 9;10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, Colossians 3:23-24 And whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
This is true for the secular work we do. We as followers of Christ should be doing our secular job as to the Lord, without wasting time at work, like doing our personal business during our working hours or not doing our job with all our heart, concentration or taking break time longer than the allotted time. We should be aware of this that the Lord is watching always even if our superiors are not watching. We cannot complain, murmur and slack in our work because no one is appreciating you, you are paid to do the work and you receive the pay check for your work. God will reward you for the job well done not for murmuring or complaining, remember what happened to the Israelites when they complained and murmured against Moses ,it is same as complaining and murmuring against God. We need to teach to our children the work ethic and not expecting affirmation or appreciation for their own good. Nowadays the secular world teaches that children needs to be affirmed and celebrated and they even have pre-school graduation when they haven't done anything. I am not saying that you should not encourage the children , you should and always talk positive Godly words to them and not use negative and derogatory words or call them idiot or fools as they are created in the image of God. We should only take what God says about us and not what people say what we are, we are what 1 Peter 2:9 says - But you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession,We are special that doesn't mean we are to be appreciated and glorified by people, God says He will reward you for your sincere work.
We should be humble ourselves and say we only did what we are supposed to do. Do not look or seek commendation from man especially if you are doing God's work. It is hard to see God's workers doing this in the 21st century.
This passage will be better understood by people from an eastern culture than by people from a western culture. I haven't heard a message preached on this scripture and is not popular among people at the present time. It is unfathomable to the modern day Christians that you don't have to be appreciated to do God's work. Every one wants to be appreciated. Have you seen pastors after worship on a Sunday morning say let us give a great clap for the worship team for a good performance? We have a pastors' appreciation day every year, I know people will scoff at me for saying this, I don't have a problem with pastors paid for their position. Bible says in 1 Timothy 5:18 For Scripture says, " Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages." If you are called by God to do His work, you do it whether people appreciate you or not without complaints. The bible says in Ecclesiastes 9;10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, Colossians 3:23-24 And whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
This is true for the secular work we do. We as followers of Christ should be doing our secular job as to the Lord, without wasting time at work, like doing our personal business during our working hours or not doing our job with all our heart, concentration or taking break time longer than the allotted time. We should be aware of this that the Lord is watching always even if our superiors are not watching. We cannot complain, murmur and slack in our work because no one is appreciating you, you are paid to do the work and you receive the pay check for your work. God will reward you for the job well done not for murmuring or complaining, remember what happened to the Israelites when they complained and murmured against Moses ,it is same as complaining and murmuring against God. We need to teach to our children the work ethic and not expecting affirmation or appreciation for their own good. Nowadays the secular world teaches that children needs to be affirmed and celebrated and they even have pre-school graduation when they haven't done anything. I am not saying that you should not encourage the children , you should and always talk positive Godly words to them and not use negative and derogatory words or call them idiot or fools as they are created in the image of God. We should only take what God says about us and not what people say what we are, we are what 1 Peter 2:9 says - But you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession,We are special that doesn't mean we are to be appreciated and glorified by people, God says He will reward you for your sincere work.
We should be humble ourselves and say we only did what we are supposed to do. Do not look or seek commendation from man especially if you are doing God's work. It is hard to see God's workers doing this in the 21st century.