Service: An Unsung Gift of GodSample

Day 3: We're All Servants, Whether We Believe or Not 

In Luke 16 the shrewd manager in the story might not have seen himself as a servant. He didn't want to become a labourer (or a beggar), so he comes across as rather self-serving. Nonetheless, he is commended by his master, and by Jesus, for looking after himself. To be self-serving is to be selfish, but there's a sense in which if we don't look after ourselves, we're not going to be able to look after others. 

God doesn't call us to lives of solitude as hermits, because then we'd be relying on others to sustain us. There is a place for those who devote themselves to prayer for others, but even Paul made tents to sustain himself and didn't just live in a cave. 

The shrewd manager might come across as selfish, but he actually reduced prices for his customers, and forfeited his own commission. Yes, he did so in the hope that what goes around (generosity) comes around, but he was shrewdly investing in his future. 

Dishonesty might not be commendable, but shrewdness is. If we're not looking after ourselves, how can we look after others? Worldly people often have more sense to look after themselves than heavenly ones. 

'Lord, may we serve You rather than materialism, but help us to use wealth for Your glory and to gain treasures in heaven, in Jesus's name, amen.' 

Do you live life in the service of stuff, or in the service of the Saviour?