Sunday, October 6, 2013

Duty is a Four Letter Word



Report for Duty
courtesy google search
 
As I took notes on Pastor Jerry’s sermon, he was reading in Luke about mustard seed faith, and the duty of a servant.

 Luke 17: 5-10  “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?  Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?  So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”
 
When we think of four letter words, we often think of expletivesand cartoons that show symbols such as #%@& $  instead of words.
 
Pastor gave an illustration:  A Pastor’s wife plopped into her chair and said, “I am so tired.”  Her husband said, I am the one who should be tired, I held three services and preached 5 times today.”  She said, “I am tired because it was my duty to listen to you through them all.”

A small boy was praying and telling God what he wanted done, as if it was God’s duty to answer his prayers.

 There are many types of duty, Jury duty, duty to pay our taxes, parental duty, social and Christian duties.  The word DUTY can cause us a heavy load to bear.  Some even have a duty to duty !!

In a church we may be asked to serve on committees, as it is our duty to do so.  We may not even be fitted for the job but we do our best feeling it is our duty. 
 
Actually the spiritual gifts as well as natural abilities should be considered when selecting people to fill a position. 

No one wants the position of being a servant.  There is a limit to our desires and duty calls.  We feel obligated to do the right thing.  There are demands for every situation.

The reality is that the servant prepares, serves and has no rest.  He is not thanked or given honor for a job well done.  He does not expect praise and is considered ordinary because it was his duty.  He does not expect a special honor luncheon or a five year pin.
 
We work hard in church activities, and we do show appreciation for our volunteers, as this is a management tool.

We all have a duty toward God.  There is no vacation, or time off, and no retirement.  We are a Christian until the day we return to Jesus.  Really this is the best life that there is.

We can never repay God for what he has provided for us.  Our desire is to hear him say, “Well done thou Good and Faithful Servant.” 
 
It is not actually out of DUTY that we serve Jesus, but we use another four letter word and that is LOVE.

May we all report to Jesus for DUTY. 
 
This post is shared with Charlotte’s Spiritual Sundays
This post is also Linked with Michelle’s Hear it on Sunday Use it on Monday


5 comments:

Unknown said...

Dear Hazel
Oh, I am sure you know what a delight it is to serve our Lord Jesus just because He is so worthy, filled with goodness and enveloping us in His Loving Embrace. He even calls us His brothers and sisters.
Blessings XX
Mia

Helene said...

I like the difference in the words. Duty like the loyalty of a soldier prepared for action is just right!

Sharon said...

Beautiful lessons. Right now, I am down visiting with my parents for my once-a-month visit of a week to help my siblings with care-taking. My husband sometimes wonders how I can do it - and I tell him it's two things...Love and Duty.

And, in my opinion, when you love someone, you can't separate your sense of duty from that love.

GOD BLESS!

Floyd said...

Good call, Hazel. It is love, not duty that drives us to do what only a heart of grace from our Father can achieve.

Chatty Crone said...

We do have duty to report to God, but hopefully it is a cheerful duty.