Two Servants at the End of the Age

Matthew 24:45-51 – “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.  But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

People have always been interested about the end of the world.  Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic movie stories are probably one of the most recycled topics used by Hollywood, whether it occurs by natural disaster, zombie invasion, or giant meteor.  But people don’t need to watch movies and speculate about what will happen during the end of days; all they need to do to know the details of those days is to pick up their Bible and read – read passages in Revelation, Daniel, and even specific chapters of the Gospels.  The Bible is a rich source of information about the last days.

Many Christians have an obsession with the last days, spending a lot of time trying to predict the date of Christ’s return; but the Bible is clear that no one knows the day except for God the Father.  So why do we keep wasting our time speculating on the date?  Don’t we have something better to do as disciples of Jesus Christ?  Our passage today in Matthew 24 was actually the end of a conversation Jesus had with His disciples on the end of days.  It actually began with the disciples asking the same question that many of us ask, “When will that day come?”  To which Jesus replied, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son but the Father only” (vs.36).  By stating this and telling the story that we have as our passage today, He was getting His disciples to switch their focus from a date to a prepared attitude and heart – that is the better thing we can do than speculating the date.  This same story should inspire us as His disciples today to prepare our hearts for His return.

In the story, there is a master who leaves his household in the caretaking of his servant for an unknown period of time.  The servant had the simple task of making sure that the household would be provided for and taken care of while his master was away.  Seeing that his master was not present, the servant then had two choices – 1) He could obey his master’s command and serve even without a watchful eye on him or 2) He could ignore it until there was a sign of his master’s return.  In one case, where the servant is “faithful and wise,” he simply did his master’s work at the appointed times, continually serving his master even in his absence.  It mattered not what time his master would return, for he was ready at any moment to show that he had been faithful.  He cared not for recognition or credit, for to him, being faithful to his master through obedience was its own reward.  In the end, his obedience was rewarded with a higher position, in which he became caretaker of all his master’s possessions.   In the other case, the servant was described as “wicked,” for although the task was the same, the attitude it was approached with was completely different.  Instead of being prepared at any moment for his master’s return, the servant assumed that his master would be delayed and that he could put off the work given to him.  He was so concerned about times and dates, that instead of being prepared, he actually fell into a worse state than if his master was present.  He not only ignored his task of watching the household but went contrary to it by destroying it (beating his fellow servants and squandering his time and money with drunkards).    Instead of being prepared, he was found unfit for the work given to him and in the end was rewarded with shame and punishment.

By examining the consequences of both choices, we as disciples of Jesus Christ can certainly learn a few lessons on how we need to prepare for Christ’s return.  First, like the servant, we have been given a task by our Master and Lord to caretake His church, building it up as the servant was to provide food for the household.  Matthew 28:19-20 reminds us that we are not only to share the Gospel with all nations building the kingdom of God in numbers but also to make disciples building the kingdom in heart and maturity.  Paul stated it best, “Encourage one another and build up each other.” (1 Thess 5:11 NRSV)  This is our task and should be what every Christian continues to do as He awaits Christ’s return.  Second, the faithful servant was faithful continually.  So much of the time, we as Christians get tired of serving God, of being faithful, of continually carrying the faith.  We start out with a bright fire, wanting to be all that God has called us to be but eventually die out into lives of mediocrity.  But in this passage, the faithful servant served not only once but continuously until his master’s return.  We should also continue to serve and not allow our hearts to grow weary, for in due season we shall reap (Galatians 6:9).  Third, unlike the wicked servant, we should expect Christ to return at any moment.  The wicked servant assumed that his master’s return would be delayed, giving him ample reason every time to push off his work and to revel in sin.  We as Christians tend to live our lives on earth as if Christ would never return.  We state with our mouths that He can come at any moment but we live our lives as if He won’t show up in our lifetime.  As His disciples privileged to carry the Gospel to the world, we must understand that there is an urgency to share these words of life with all around us.  We must live each day as if it were the last time any person will ever hear about God’s love.  If Christians lived with that type of heart, the world would be a much different place.  Also, if we lived in that way, a Christian’s heart would also be completely different, for he would certainly remove the sins in his life that he would be ashamed of if Christ was present at that moment.  Because we don’t really believe that He will show up in the blink of an eye, we let our sins continue to fester in our lives.  We must get rid of it ASAP, for He can show up at any moment.  Simply, as Christians we need to live in a manner where we can be proud to have Christ present at any moment.  Fourth, as the wicked servant who failed to do his master’s work ended up bringing down the household, a Christian who is not performing the tasks God has assigned Him also brings down the church.  Very often, we find that a Christian who is idle in God’s work tends to fall into sin, for idle hands are simply the tools of the devil.  When one is not filled up with God’s Spirit doing His work, there can only be one alternative which is a heart that is filled with sin and wickedness – that type of heart destroys the body of Christ.  Are you sinning with sinners instead of being a light?  Are you discouraging fellow Christians through your words or actions?  Let us be careful that we are not doing anything to hurt or destroy the church instead of building it up.  Remove any stumbling block you know of in your life that will be an obstacle for growth to your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our passage today reveals two responses of a servant to a master’s calling.  We as Christians have been called by Christ to build up His church – to prepare it for the day of His return.  What type of servant will He find you to be at the end of the age?  Will you be considered a wicked servant who will be tossed out to a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth?  Or will you be considered a “good and faithful” servant?

Not In Vain

Ecclesiastes 1:2 – “‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher, ‘vanity of vanities!  All is vanity.’”

1 Corinthians 15:56 – “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

Don’t you hate it when you spend hours upon hours doing something, only to find out that all the time you put in will be going down the drain because none of it will be used?  This situation comes up quite often in scientific research.  A project is started with a young, aspiring student spending countless of hours on the lab bench, only to find out that a few months later his work amounted to nothing significant enough to get published in a scientific journal.  This has actually happened to me quite often in my last three years in research, except I never even got far enough to get finished results.  Instead my experiments would just fail to the point of the project being scrapped, leaving me overcome with a wave of sadness, slight depression, and cynicism.  In the end, all I felt was that all my work was useless.  Fortunately, this trend doesn’t happen with everyone, but, I believe, that many scientists, even the successful ones, still do share my opinion that most research that is performed will eventually become worthless.  Paraphrasing a previous colleague of mine, “I don’t think that in the next ten years most of the things we publish will even matter.  No one will care.”  What a sad commentary, right?  On the brighter side, there will be the few slivers of greatness that outlast centuries (Newton, Einstein, Salk).  But even they in the end will eventually be forgotten.  It doesn’t matter whether you are in science, politics, art, literature, or any other field; no matter who you are or what you do, eventually it all amounts to nothing.  At least, that was the conclusion that Solomon, the wisest person that ever lived, first came to in Ecclesiastes.

Whenever I read the book of Ecclesiastes, I feel quite depressed after meditating on the thoughts shared there, because the constant theme is “All is vanity.”  The book clearly accomplishes its purpose, because it forces a person to reflect on the life he is currently living and examine it to see if he has been spending the short time he has on this earth wisely.  Are you chasing after the things of this earth like money, houses, or gadgets?  Consider that these things will eventually be eaten by moth and rust.  Are you looking to build a name for yourself, so that you will be remembered in the history books?  Consider that ten thousand years from now, people will hardly be able to remember your name just like you can’t name the first man to win the Olympic Games (the first as in the one in Ancient Greece).  Are you looking to do good for others and help them out in any way possible to make your heart feel good?  Consider that happiness fades even if it resulted from a good deed.  No matter what is done, it is all for vanity.  But surprisingly, Solomon doesn’t end the book of Ecclesiastes on the same note; he finishes off by saying, “The end of the matter; all has been heard.  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”  (12:13-14).  In the end, one thing and only one thing was not in vain, fearing God and keeping His commandments.  What is done for God – that will last.

This thought is reiterated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:56, when he exhorts the Corinthian church, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  As Paul was finishing his letter to the Corinthians, he encouraged them by reminding them that anything done for the Lord is never in vain.  He understood that as time passed and tangible results lingered in absence, it would be easy for the church to just give up its work.  So instead of just letting this passively happen, Paul made sure to nip discouragement at the bud and to reaffirm them of their labor in the Lord.  Working with and for the Lord is sometimes a difficult thing, especially when results are not immediately seen.  For example, we all know of the frustration we feel for the friend/relative we have already spent years praying for but have yet to see come to Christ.  And most certainly, we have experienced a time in which we served God in some capacity yet have never seen the results of our labor.  William Carey, for instance, ministered to the people of India for several years before he even saw his first convert.  Although the effects of our serving the Lord may tarry, we should never grow weary in doing good “for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9)  Instead of giving up, let us be steadfast in our faith, immovable in our determination, and focused in the work of the Lord, remembering that anything that is done for God will never be in vain.  Unlike everything else you do in this world, when you serve Christ the rewards that are reaped are eternal – ones that moth nor rust nor thieves can destroy or steal.  If you feel like giving up don’t, instead be encouraged knowing that laboring with and for the Lord leaves lasting value.