Useless Servants

One of the texts that clearly explains the human condition before God and which, unfortunately, also receives the worst interpretations, being used by those who like to demand more than others can handle — exploitative bosses, abusively strict teachers, and even civil authorities who believe that the people should serve the State, and not the other way around.
These people read and quote only the last part of the passage concerning the so-called "unprofitable servants":

Which of you, having a slave plowing the land or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field:
‘'You can come right now, recline at the table to eat dinner'?
On the contrary. According to custom you shall say to him:
‘'Prepare my dinner, get yourself ready, and then come and serve me while I eat and drink; afterward you will eat and drink as well.'.
Should he thank the slave because he did what he was told?
Likewise, you, after you have done all that you were commanded, should say:
‘'We are useless servants, for we only do our duty!'.

(Luke 17:7-10 – KJA)

In light of this last verse, they argue that Jesus stated that "whoever only does what is required of them is a useless servant; therefore, you must do more than is required in your role.".
However, the meaning of the text, when analyzed within the entire context—without isolating a single verse—reveals itself to be completely different. Jesus speaks of a master who simply occupies his rightful place, being the priority and therefore the first to sit at the table, only then allowing the servants to eat their meal.
And the fact that the servants fulfilled their obligation, as Jesus says, is not something he needs to be grateful for, as it is inherent to their role.

The meaning of the text refers to the human being's situation before God: created to be a servant of his Creator, he has the responsibility to glorify God and not himself, because without the Creator, he is nothing, as the patriarch Abraham himself recognized as being only dust and ashes before the Lord.

Abraham argued:
“"I dare to speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.".

(Genesis 18:27 – KJA)

In short, what this text says is that: even if human beings lived their entire existence 100% to glorify God, without ever failing or ever having a single moment of selfishness or egocentrism, and never placing their priorities and desires above those of the Creator… even then they would have done nothing beyond what they were created for.
Unfortunately, the truth is that not even the obligation that human beings have upon themselves is capable of fulfilling: not even the most fervent, selfless, sincere, and dedicated Christian can achieve the perfection that the standard of divine law demands!
Tiago states:

Therefore, whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

(James 2:10 – KJA)

What is striking in this verse is the word "stumble," meaning that it is not necessary to fall, that is, to commit a deliberate sin: even if a sin is committed in ignorance—because the person did not even know it was a sin—this already makes them guilty of all of God's Law.
It's not hard to understand why.

Using a practical example: if a person walks through a room where another person has forgotten their wallet 49 times without touching it, but on the 50th time they take the money that is inside, this completely negates their previous 49 acts of honesty, and this person is not 49 times better than a thief, because just one theft is enough for them to become one.
It's the same as, for example, making a hole in a fence.
It doesn't matter if the rest of it is intact, because with just one hole, it no longer offers any security to those inside.

Therefore, not even obligation—due to fallen nature in sin—is something that human beings are capable of fulfilling.
Human beings are even worse in the eyes of God's Law than the "unprofitable servant" referred to in the parable, for they do not even do what is their duty.

It is precisely because of this total inability of human beings to achieve the perfection of the Law through their personal effort that Jesus was sent as the substitute for all humanity in fulfilling the divine Law, and He himself affirms this, saying that He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it (see Matthew 5:17-18).
He did what no fallen human being could do: fulfill the divine Law perfectly.
And, as Isaiah prophesied 700 years before the crucifixion, the justice of God's Law had to be fully satisfied:

Truly he took upon himself our infirmities, and carried our sorrows;
And we considered him afflicted, struck down by God, and oppressed.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities;
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:4-6 – ACF)

Christ, taking upon himself what he did not deserve (the punishment for sins), did for us what we cannot (fulfill the Law) and won for us what we do not deserve (divine grace).
Thus, from servants even lower than the useless ones in the brief parable, Jesus made us children of God, being himself the firstborn among many brothers (see Romans 8:29).

We have no merit to our part, for we haven't even fulfilled our obligation…
In eternity, however, we will worship God perfectly, reigning with Christ for all eternity… and all by His merit, not ours.
Blessed be the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the obligations of Christians should be to meditate on the scriptures at all times, but we live in a time when people seem incapable of even following the development of a line of reasoning, let alone believing in the future!
Such shallow personalities, satisfied only with immediate solutions, are just another example. indication That the end times are rapidly approaching, and before the Lord returns like a thief in the night, the prophesied reign of the Antichrist must be consolidated not only in Brazil, but throughout the world!
In the 2023 phase of "The Worst Gospel," I decided to use new formats in the hope of helping to increase the reach of content related to the Scriptures—stories, videos, shorter texts, guest authors…—and this publication, which I took the liberty of revising and illustrating, is part of that project.
Thank you for reading this far.
I still need all the help I can get: comments, shares, and reactions help spread this content, which was entirely produced with the intention of contributing to the edification of the Body of Christ in the world.