Luke 17:8 Servant 3/3

Luke 17:7 says, "And which of you having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?"

Luke 17:8 says, "But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink."

Okay, so adding on today's verse to yesterday's.

Yesterday I talked about realizing what my job is as a servant of God. My responsibility as a servant doesn't change when I'm tired or not feeling good or having a bad day. I'm always a servant. That's the life I signed up for when I surrendered my life to Christ. And that shouldn't be depressing! Serving should be a joy because I should be focused on Who I am serving and why I serve Him. In serving Him, I have been given a purpose. Also, serving isn't what I have to do to earn salvation, because I already have salvation. I am forgiven. My past is forgiven. I am righteous in the sight of my God. Serving is what flows out of my love and gratefulness for what He did for me.

So now looking at today's verse, my job is putting my Master's needs ahead of mine always. Like I mentioned last week, I'm not told to completely disregard my needs, I'm just not looking at them first. I'm looking at my Master's needs first. And like I mentioned yesterday, when I serve my neighbors, I am serving Jesus so, just like Philippians 2:3-4 says, I am supposed to be concerned for my neighbors needs and interests ahead of my own. I need to make sure that everyone else is completely taken care of and then take care of myself because that's my job as a bondservant. I need to get my eyes off of myself, even when I'm tired. Even when it's been a long day of serving.

I need to have my attention always focused on others needs. But opposed to what I have done in the past, now I am focused on other's needs not because I am trying to please people but because I love God and I want to follow the commandments that He has given me and serving Him and others is one of them. People-pleasing is selfish because I am focused on what I can do so that others will be happy with me. I need to be serving with the correct attitude. I need to be serving without seeking praise or thanks. I tend to be a person that drops hints about nice things that I have done so that I can receive the compliment that I think I deserve. That is something that I am asking God to change in me.  And if/when I get praise, I need to have the appropriate response.

Application:
Today, I will purpose in my heart to serve without seeking praise. I will pray that God helps me with this because it really is something that I struggle with.