Meeting guide · command 57
Be Unworthty Servants
Obey without treating faithful service as leverage that makes God indebted to you.
Read
Read the complete passage aloud.
Primary passage
Luke 17:7–10
7 But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say when he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down at the table’? 8 Wouldn’t he rather tell him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? I think not. 10 Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”
World English Bible
Jesus uses the ordinary expectations of a servant to confront entitlement after obedience.
Discuss
Listen carefully to what Jesus says.
- What does Jesus command?
- What does this passage reveal about Him?
- Where do we resist this command?
- What is difficult or unclear?
- Where does obedience become a reason to feel entitled, superior, or disappointed that God or others owe you?
Practice
Choose one specific act of obedience.
Complete one responsibility faithfully without fishing for praise, comparison, or repayment; thank God for the privilege of serving.
Return
Come back and discuss what happened.
What changed when you served without seeking credit or leverage?
Close together
Pray. Then prepare to teach.
Pray
Lord, free us from entitlement. Let us serve faithfully, gratefully, and without keeping score.
Teach
Do not use the social setting of the parable to endorse exploitation; Jesus is confronting a disciple's posture of entitlement toward God.