Matthew 25:21, His
lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou
into the joy of thy lord.
This is a part of
the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25; at the occasion of
accountability, the Lord praises the servant who has been trustworthy in their
actions and choices with what was entrusted to them and will be rewarded with
greater opportunities, responsibilities, and sharing in God’s joy. With
that observed there are three terms that will prove helpful for us to executing
“good”, “faithful”, and “servant” behavior.
Competence, commitment, and humility comes to mind….
A ’good’ servant
is keenly focused on pleasing God and serving others, demonstrating loyalty,
diligence, and effective stewardship. They are good at what they do—a high
degree of competence is showcased. Ephesians 4:2 tells us a servant should
always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting others in love. Then 2
Timothy 2:24-26, says that a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be
kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient…they must gently teach those who
disagree. Obviously, they are ‘good’ in the eyes of the Lord.
Then according to 1 Corinthians, 4:2 it says, “It is required in stewards,
that a man be found faithful.” This biblical definition of success highlights
‘faithful’, and not ‘fruitful’.
Certainly, we trust that as we are faithful to Jesus, we will yield
fruit in our lives in all kinds of ways. Never-the-less, faithfulness aligns
with a commitment to Christ to be such.
A genuine ‘servant’ is concerned with devotion to pleasing the Lord
Jesus and is passionate for advancing the gospel. Certainly, we must strive to be bold, humble,
persistent, caring, committed, giving credit to the Lord, and loving one
another. These characteristics should certainly describe us as ‘doing well…faithful
servant’ (Matt 25:23). As ‘servants’ we belonged to Jesus Christ and perform
the varieties of works he gives us.
What makes a good
and faithful servant? Primarily, every Christian entrusted with abilities,
opportunities, and duties must perform them faithfully, prepared at all times
to account for what has been done. Catalog whatever you have and take
and offer it faithfully to the Lord Jesus. It's not about how much ability you
have, it's what you do with it…how you develop it…how you invest it. The key is to be consistent, sensible, and
ready.
