Sin, Faith and Duty

Posted by James Stovall on Apr 23, 2009 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

When I read these verses my first reaction was I sometimes feel like the servant in this story. My wife and I have our duties around the house divided up in a reasonably fair way, but some days when I come in from one of my duties like mowing the lawn I want to be thanked. Sometimes I fish for acknowledgment such as, “Hey honey, did you notice the lawn?” or “Wow! All our trash cans appear to be empty!”

The header to this section is Sin, Faith and Duty, and you can deduce that this parable is the part to talk about duty. Do we as Christians sometimes act like the servant who expects a reward for our works for God? Everyone wants to be appreciated for the hard work that they do, so it is only human nature to react to duties from God in the same way. I think many Christians think they deserve some thanks or blessings from God for following his commands. It is great when we follow his commandments, tithe, or volunteer to help the church or community. But when we start to have an expectation that this has earned us something we have to remember – isn’t this our duty?

I know I’m guilty of this. Sometimes when I simply follow God’s commandments I think of everyone else out there not following God’s commandments. I’m inwardly proud of what I have done rather than being the humble servant who sees himself unworthy of his master.