Luke 17:7-10 - Doing one's duty

17:7-10

What did the Pharisees and the other religious leaders of the time do? They lived their lives aiming to get the approval of men, to be looked up to by people as those who were really religious. In fact we have a deep seated human desire to seek approval. We have a desire to be recognised. If we preach, or lead worship, or have other positions within the church there is a part of us that wants approval, or even to be recognised as someone special. Jesus is countering that attitude here. We should do our duty because it is our duty and that is that. That is the attitude we need to have. If our duty is to preach or teach then we should eek to do this to the best of our abilities, and then be satisfied that we have done our duty. If our duty is to lead worship or to lead in children’s church, we should do it to the best of our abilities, and then be satisfied that we have done our duty. There are times when we can feel underappreciated because we have put in a lot of hard work, but no one has thanked us. We should be satisfied that we have done our duty.

Now, these verses are only part of Jesus’ teaching, but they are an important part and we need to take them on board. Elsewhere Jesus tells parables of faithful servants receiving a reward. Elsewhere we are told to honour one another. So we are to do these things as well. The way things work in the kingdom is like this. I am to do my duty, seeking no praise, seeking only to please the Lord. I am to value the work done by others and to honour them. if we live like this things will go well, but if we start doing things looking for praise then things can start going badly. Also, having the duty attitude encouraged here by Jesus is a powerful weapon, it makes it harder for the enemy to stop or hinder us. For one of his tactics is to make us feel disgruntled because “no one appreciates me”, then we either do things with less dedication, or even give up altogether. But if we have the “I have only done my duty” attitude, this attack will have no effect. We will carry on doing our duty, carry on building the kingdom!

In a sense all this is like money and material wealth. If we make money a goal we are in big trouble (1 Tim 6:3-10), but if we seek first the kingdom of God then He will provide all our needs. There may be times when things are hard, there may be times when we have an abundance. When we have little we will know how to carry on serving God, when we have plenty we will know how to enjoy it and receive it properly (Phil 4:11,12). Likewise with being appreciated. If we seek appreciation we are in trouble and vulnerable. If we seek to do our duty then we become mighty soldiers for Jesus. In the times when we are not appreciated it will not deter us. In the times when we do receive appreciation we will receive it aright, rejoicing in God’s goodness to us.