We Are Servants /
ELEVEN We Are Servants Foundation Text: Again, it will be like a man going ona journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. —Mt 25:14
This is a parable concerning service, and is full of most important teaching. "His servants" must mean disciples, followers, in other words, Christians. Evidently all the servants were called. None were left out, none were expected to pass the time of the Master's absence in idleness. And therefore if you are in the household, the call is to you. No member of the household is excepted. None can excuse themselves because they have not been called, for the call is to every one.
It's like a man going away: he leaves his house in charge of his servants, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.—Mk 13:34
"Each with his assigned task." Not the same task to all, but each one has his own talent and his own place. And each one Is responsible only for that which is given to him himself to do.
This seems too plain to be spoken of; but as a fact, most members of God's household are more concerned about the work given to someone else, than about that given to themselves.
134 / The Open Secret When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."—Jn 21:21-22
Not what others do or leave undone, but what I myself do or leave undone, is the vital thing in my soul life.
Neither should I care for the judgment of others concerning my work. A servant ina household is not anxious to know what the master or mistress next door may think of him or his work, but only what his own master and mistress think.
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court, indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.—1 Cor 4:3-5
Only One who can see the end from the beginning is able to judge a righteous judgment; therefore the servants of Christ must reserve their judgment of one another, until the final judgment is declared by their common Master. And we are therefore in truth forbidden to judge at all.
Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.—Rom 14:4
Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it.
When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.—Jas 4:11
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first
We Are Servants / 135 take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.—Mt 7:1-5
We are each one to do our own work faithfully, without regard to how our fellow workers may do theirs. If these plain and positive rules were followed in the church of Christ, what a millenium of peace we should have!
You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: / "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, /
'Every knee will bow before me; / every tongue will confess to God." / So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. / Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.
Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.—Rom 14:10-13
Our only judging must be lest we ourselves put a stumblingblock in our brother's way. What wonderful Christian harmony such judging as this would cause!
He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'"—Lk 19:12-13 Of course, the object of the Master in giving talents to his servants, is that they should "put them to work" until his return. But we must notice that the talents were not all alike.
"To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey."—Mt 25:15
"Each according to his ability." All are not capable of the same work, and the Master's gifts are apportioned to us, according to our individual capacity.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different
136 / The Open Secret kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.—1 Cor 12:4-11
The gifts are different, but the responsibility of using them is the same in every case. And yet notice the conduct of these servants.
The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.—Mt 25:16-18 Two of the servants used their talents faithfully; but one of them thought his talent was so small that it would not amount to anything much, even if he did use it, and the risk of failure seemed to him too great. Therefore he hid it in a safe place, to be returned intact to the Master when he should call for an account.
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' ...
"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.
See, here is what belongs to you.'"—Mt 25:19-22, 24-25 There are many such Christians in the household of faith.
They are conscious of possessing only one talent, and that,
We Are Servants / 137 perhaps, a very insignificant one; and they cannot see that any good whatever can possibly come from the using of it. Then, besides, they have hard thoughts of their Divine Master, and believe that his judgment of them and of their work will be as critical and severe, as they fear human judgments will be, or as their own have often been of others, and consequently they are afraid to work at all.
You speak continually against your brother / and slander your own mother's son. / These things you have done and I kept silent;
/ you thought I was altogether like you. / But I will rebuke you / and accuse you to your face.—Ps 50:20-21
Many sit and judge their brother harshly, and then they think God is like themselves, and will judge them as harshly; and they are afraid of him, as though he were a "hard man."
"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'" —Lk 19:20-21
We are far too apt to think that God is "altogether like us" in the worst elements of our characters, and to doubt whether he is as good as ourselves in the best.
We think his judgments are as harsh and exacting as ours often are; but we never dream his love is as charitable, and considerate, and tender as ours sometimes is. If we would judge him by our best instead of by our worst, we would forma far different idea of him, and be far less afraid of him, than is now, alas, too often the case.
Contrast the final judgment given in the case of these servants. To the one with five talents was said:
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!"
—Mt 25:21
138 / The Open Secret To the one with two talents was said:
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!"
—Mt 25:23
To the one with one talent was said:
"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
"*Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.—Mt 25:26-29 In the two first cases it is "Well done, good and faithful servant," and in the last, "you wicked, lazy servant." The difference was not in the amount done or left undone, but in the faithfulness or unfaithfulness to the talents given. The servant with the two talents was commended in just the same words as the one with five. And the servant with only one talent, would have received a similar approval, had he shown a similar faithfulness.
For such a commendation who would not strive? To hear the Master say, "Well done" at last, would surely repay one for all that might have been passed through to deserve it!
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.—1 Cor 4:1-2
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.—Lk 16:10
A servant is not responsible for the amount of things entrusted to his care. He is only responsible for the care of that which is entrusted; and the praise or blame that awaits him
We Are Servants / 139 depends altogether and only upon the way he has fulfilled his trust, whether that trust has been one talent or many.
Alas! how many talents are "laid away in a piece of cloth" in the church of Christ, whose owners never dream of the sad condemnation that awaits them! Their sole duty was to put the talent to work, but because it was small and apparently of little account, they have failed. We are not praised or blamed for the number of our talents, but simply and only for the faithful or unfaithful use of those given. We cannot escape this fact. One day we must face our record in reference to it; and far better will it be for us to do this now, than to wait until it is too late to alter it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.—2 Cor 5:10
For God will bring every deed into judgment, / including every hidden thing, / whether it is good or evil.—Eccl 12:14
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
—Rom 14:12
We cannot avoid giving this "account," for it is one that gives itself. Our life work tells in the formation of character, and it is the character we have formed that is to be the judgment given. In the very nature of things we receive according to what we have done, and we cannot help it.
"And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." —M 25:30
This is a very solemn word. For we see that it is the "worthless servant" merely, who was cast into this outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth: not one who had committed some great crime, but one who had simply been unprofitable. And it was a "servant" too; not an outsider, but one of the "household," evidently a believer in his
Lord and Master. Have we ever dreamed that to be merely a "worthless servant" was so serious and grievous a thing as this?
140 / The Open Secret We Christians have been used to appropriating this Scripture to sinners, feeling that, as for ourselves, we had nothing to do with it, and need not give it a second thought. But we cannot escape this fact, that it was a condemnation pronounced on the unprofitable servant, who had done nothing but hide his talent in the earth because he was afraid to use it. I would that every child of God would solemnly consider this.
But some may think that they at least do not possess even the one talent. The remainder of our chapter will answer such.
Our Lord at once followed the parable we have been considering, with another, which was evidently intended to elucidate the first, and to show what s the work he has given us to do, and what are the talents, whether one or many, which he has bestowed upon us.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.". ..
Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me."
—Mt 25:31-36, 41-43 The work to which we are called is the Christlike work of helping and saving, and the talents given us for use are those common to humanity, i.e., the power of ministering to the
We Are Servants / 141 sick, and helpless, and needy, and sinful. The difference between the sheep and the goats was just this, that the one put these homely talents to Christ-like work, and the other did not.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.—Jas 1:27
What good is it, my brothers, ifa man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "go I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
—Jas 2:14.18
It is always easy to say things, but the doing is the vital point.
It is possible to be very "pious" in all religious performances, to fast and pray and "say" all manner of good things; and yet to have after all very little "religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless"; and to be, without knowing it, classed in the mind of the Master among the goats on his left hand at the last.
"Why have we fasted," they say, / "and you have not seen it? / Why have we humbled ourselves, / and you have not noticed?" /
Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please / and exploit all your workers. / Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, / and in striking each other with wicked fists. / You cannot fast as you do today / and expect your voice to be heard on high. / Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, / only a day for a man to humble himself? / Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed / and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? / Is that what you call a fast, / a day acceptable to the Lord? / "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice / and untie the cords of the yoke, / to set the oppressed free / and break every yoke? / Is it not to share your food with the hungry / and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— / when you see the naked, to clothe him,
/ and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?—Is 58:3-7
142 / The Open Secret All the talking, or fasting, or weeping, or wearing of sackcloth in the world, will not do as a substitute for the Christ-like life of love and kindness towards our fellow-men.
The "fast he has chosen" is to help the needy and raise the fallen, and nothing will do instead of this.
A great many Christians never do anything except "for themselves." Whether they fast, or whether they eat and drink, it is all for themselves, to save their own souls, or to help forward their own experience; but they never lift a hand to help anyone else. Their religion is all for self-exaltation, in one way or another, either now or hereafter, and not truly for the glory of God at all. And they are so absorbed in self, that they do not even know that they are condemned.
They also will answer, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?"
He will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."—Mt 25:44-45
"When did we see you" they ask; never dreaming that because they have not served their fellow men, they have therefore failed to serve their Master.
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. —Mt 25:46
Notice the grievous condemnation here bestowed upon those who had simply failed to do this Christ-like work. The punishment inflicted is not because of actual sins committed, but simply and only because of some kind deeds left undone.
And I fear lest some church members, who have been very lavish in meting out this condemnation to the outside sinner, may find that it belongs quite as much to themselves, viewed in the searching light of God's eternal day.
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot
We Are Servants / 143 bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"
—Mt 7:16-23 (Mt 25:37-40) When we put forth our hands to help any soul for whom Christ died, even though that soul may have been so sinful as to be cast into prison, we are doing it to him. Let these blessed words "Inasmuch" and "Well done" fire our souls to all deeds of kindness and of love.
"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one ofus."
"Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against usis for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward." —Mk 9:38-41
All Christ-like work is begotten by Christ, even though it may be by one who is not "one of us." Christ was goodness personified, and he who is good is allied to Christ although he may never have heard of him. Whoever takes the side of goodness, takes the side of Christ, in the mind of God. It is as if a lone man, in the midst of slave-holders, should come to a beliefin freedom for slaves. We would say of him, "he is one of us"; although he might never have heard of the group to which we belong. Surely we could never forbid such a one either by word or deed from casting out the devils of sin and oppression, nor refuse to join in his work.
Not even so small a talent as a cup of water, is too small to be used for the Master; and to this, equally as to the great hospital built or the great reform wrought by those of larger gifts, will
144 / The Open Secret the blessed approval come, "Well done, good and faithful servant." And perhaps even more to the first than to the last.
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything —all she had to live on."°—Mk 12:41-44
It is not much to give out of one's abundance; but to give "out of one's poverty," all that one has, whether in time, or in talent, orin sympathy, this is the thing that receives the Lord's approval. If then you have only one talent, and the service you render is "out of your poverty" instead of out of your abundance, even though it be all that you have, cast it into the Lord's treasury, and be sure you shall win his approval, whether the world approves or not.
In Exodus 35 we have a beautiful picture of the sort of service our divine Master loves. Each one brought what he had.
And they brought it so willingly, that soon there was more than enough.
All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds; brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments.
... All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.
—Ex 35:22, 29 (Ex 25:22-28; Ex 36:3-7) If this sort of service were offered by the church of Christ to her divine Master now, it would not be so hard as it is to find willing workers to send forth into the great harvest field.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
We Are Servants / 145 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
—2 Cor 9:6-7 "Willing" service is the only kind that is really acceptable to the Lord. We are apt to think that the service which is a "cross" to us must be more meritorious. But is it more meritorious for a mother and father to care for their children if they find it a "great cross" to do so? Do we value the services of our friends more, if they are grudging services, than ifthey are poured out willingly from loving hearts? And can we imagine our divine
Master will feel about service to himself differently from us?
The king's officials answered him, "Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses."—2 Sm 15:15
"Whatever, " let it be one talent or five; my work, not the work of any other, a cup of water, a mite, a few kind words, a murmured prayer, "whatever" your hands find to do, do it with your might. And your reward shall be sure. For whether your talents be five or one, if they are only faithfully used for the Master, there shall certainly one day sound in thy ears the blessed words, "Well done."
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
—Lk 12:35-40 Let us close our lesson then with the solemn question asked
146 / The Open Secret by David of the children of Israel, hundreds of years ago; and let us make our answer as full and prompt as theirs.
And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord.—1 Chr 29:5KJV (1 Chr 29:6-9)