(…continued) That might sound harsh and insensitive to you. You might be the one always doing more than your share, always putting in the extra time, always being taking advantage of, and always muttering under your breath “Well, someone has to do it; and if I don’t take care of it, it will never get done.” And all Jesus can tell you is, “You have only done your duty.”
If that sounds harsh to us, we do need to remind ourselves who it is that is speaking here. It is Jesus, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, gives us life and breath, home and family, time and talent, food and clothing, sunshine and rain, and everything else. It is Jesus, who on the cross gave his life for us so that even our enemy death is defeated, and we can live eternally. It is Jesus, from whom we have received everything and to whom we owe an infinite debt of gratitude. It is Jesus, who commands in return that we take care of each other– without comparing, without judging, and without complaining. A reward far greater than any of us deserve has been prepared for us. And if others are not doing their fair share, that is between them and God, not between them and me.
Speaking of Jesus, look at the thanks he got for all he came here to do. He was rejected, lied about, deserted, betrayed, spit on, beaten, flogged, and crucified. That was the sort of thanks Jesus received. Do you deserve better than Jesus?
With all that in mind, we ought not judge his words as harsh, but rather, count it as a privilege and an honor to serve him by serving others. We are indeed, only doing our duty.
Imagine a friend risking his life to save yours. A while later, you are able to help him out a little bit. When he says thank you, what do you say? You say, “It’s the least I can do” or “Anytime—I owe you far more than I could ever repay.” That is infinitely truer every time we serve Jesus by serving others.
And if no one else sees or acknowledges or appreciates what you do, you can be assured that Jesus does see and is pleased. Martin Luther, who endured much ingratitude in his ministry, said:
Let him who would be a Christian be prepared to earn ingratitude with all his hard work, faithfulness, and service; and let him beware lest he be tempted therefore to no longer serve and help others. For one of the Christian virtues and a real fruit of faith consists in your saying, when people give you a dirty deal after you have done your best, ‘No, you will not get me angry and disgruntled by your conduct. I will put up with it and nevertheless help wherever I can. Will you be unthankful? I know One in heaven above us who will thank me in your stead. His thanks will be more pleasing to me than yours.’
One more thing: there is a difference in how we apply this truth to ourselves and how we ought to apply it to others. We should be ready to accept ingratitude if that is all we receive, but we should still be more than willing to express our gratitude to others. We should not take advantage of them because they are “only doing their duty,” nor should we neglect to thank them for what they do. We are to do our duty always, no matter what; and one of our duties is to encourage others in their service.
1 Thessalonians 5:11– Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
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Psalm 35:12 — They repay me evil for good and leave my soul forlorn.
Ecclesiastes 9:14-15 — There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. Now there lived in that city a man poor, but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.
Jeremiah 18:19-20 — Listen to me, O Lord; hear what my accusers are saying! Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember that I stood before you and spoke in their behalf to turn your wrath away from them.
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O God, renew our spirits and draw our hearts unto yourself, that our work may not be a burden but a delight. Let us not serve as slaves with the spirit of bondage, but with freedom and gladness as your children, rejoicing in your will. Amen.
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David Livingstone (1813–1873) was a missionary to Africa. His primary calling was to explore the interior of Africa so it could be accessible to later missionaries. Livingstone endured extreme hardships exploring Africa, including chronic malaria (27 times), dysentery, and severe infections from a lion mauling which left him crippled in one arm. He faced starvation, desertion by staff, stolen supplies, and profound isolation, often spending months without any contact with civilization. His later years were marked by premature aging, physical agony, and the loss of his wife. By the time he died in Africa, kneeling by his cot in prayer, he was an international hero. His body was buried in England, but his heart was buried in Africa. His tombstone reads: “David Livingstone: missionary, traveler, philanthropist. For thirty years his life was spent in an unwearied effort to evangelize the native races, to explore the undiscovered secrets, and to abolish the slave trade.” Twenty years before he died, Livingstone wrote in his journal:
People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with such a view and with such a thought! It is no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, and danger, in addition to doing without the common conveniences and pleasures of this life, may make us pause and cause the spirit to waver and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father’s throne on high to give Himself for us.
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