October 14

Oct 14 - Today from Proverbs 14 we look at verse 35
"A king delights in a wise servant, but a shameful servant incurs his wrath."

Where am I in this proverb? Where are you? Am I a 'king' figure? Am I a 'servant' figure? Am I merely a passing observer? Am I not in the picture at all? We address Jesus as King - but do we truly identify ourselves as His servants? Do we rise each morning with the understanding that we are to use our lives in service to Him? How do we do that? How much of my day is to be sent serving Him? Do I have any life of my own where I am allowed to make decisions apart from His rule? Doesn't the Bible teach that He is the Servant? Didn't Jesus come to serve mankind? Isn't He still serving us today? How can He be our King if He is our servant?
So many questions. Questions we need to ask ourselves in the light of God's Word.
Jesus is the Servant King. I suppose by today's standards, that would be an oxymoron. But by God's standards, the term is very congruous. In God's economy the king was never meant to be a tyrant who benefited himself at the expense of the people. The king was to be God's agent to serve the people by assuring justice among those under his area of responsibility. The servant was never meant to be a conscripted possession of another to be enslaved for self-serving purposes. The servant was to use his particular gifts and abilities to enhance the quality of life for the betterment of all. Thus the king was to be the servant of the people much as the head serves the body. The people were to be servants of the king much as the parts of the body serve the head as well as the entirety of the body. The hand never 'tells' the head what to do, and the head never 'tells' the hand to harm the foot. Sound familiar? The apostle Paul uses the analogy in 1 Corinthians 12. The analogy, however, breaks down. The parts of the body are not assigned free will. The hand could never exercise its will against the head. People can.
Jesus had a free will, and totally submitted His will to the Father. In serving the Father, He served us. Yes, He still does. . . as the Head. We sing "All Hail King Jesus", but do we truly serve Him as head? We pray "Lord Jesus", but do we truly serve Him as Lord? Do we arise each day and totally surrender our will to Him? Do we seek to place our particular gifts and abilities at His disposal in order to benefit the whole? Are we looking to use our time, talents and treasures to enhance the quality of life for the betterment of all?
As believers, we are to be in a constant process of transformation. Romans 12:2 tells us that we are no longer to be conformed to the perceptions and ways of this world system in which we live. We are to be transformed by renewing our minds with the truths of God's Word in order that we might properly respond to the will of God. It's not always easy, but it is rewarding. "The king delights in a wise servant." Wisdom is understanding life the way God meant it to be. God meant for us to serve Him and one another in community. A great part of our service to God is to serve our fellow man. Our King is a Servant King, and He constantly calls us to follow His example. God has given each of us a charge - stewardship. "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions" -Jesus; Matthew 24:45-47. Faithfulness will be rewarded.
"A shameful servant incurs his wrath." There is great consequence to those who are given a charge and choose to use that charge for self-serving purposes. "But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself. 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to abuse his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him to a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." -Jesus; Matthew 24:48-51. Shamefulness will be punished.
Where am I in this proverb? By His grace, I am a servant of the King - every hour of every day.