Unprofitable Living?
The idea of striving to be unprofitable sounds ridiculous. When we hear the word unprofitable, it’s always a negative. It’s certainly not a state that anyone would desire to achieve.
Several years ago I participated in a volunteer activity at work. Shortly after the event, I received a “Certificate of Appreciation” in the mail. I felt offended by it but I didn’t really know why. As I tossed it in the trash I wondered why I felt the way I did. After all, my employer was only trying to be nice and give encouragement. As I analyzed my feelings, my first thought was that if I was to be recognized for my positive actions, my negative qualities should also be brought to light. I hardly wanted to be recognized for aimlessly staring into space when I’m supposed to be working. But there was something else about the award that didn’t feel right.
Every morning there is a commercial on TV that urges people to volunteer in their community. It’s a cute commercial and it may persuade some people to volunteer. I visited their website expecting to find volunteer opportunities. Instead I found a list of reasons why people should consider voluntarily serving in their community. They listed a number of good reasons. The presentation ends with the statement, “Perhaps the most important reason why you should volunteer is the mere fact that you are helping others and are making a difference in your community.” This statement certainly sounds right. But is it? It depends on whose standard we use.
The concept of loving your neighbor and serving the “least of these“ is popular in today’s American culture, but would the idea still be popular if it were considered the minimum requirement? If giving to those in need was an obligation, who would we celebrate? Who would receive CNN’s “Person of the Year” award? There is no doubt that if giving in terms of time, energy, and money was adopted as the norm, it would be a shock to our culture. But I don’t think that should stop us from pursuing it as our goal.
I see a huge disconnect between how our modern society lives and the way we are intended to live. As millions of people starve to death on the other side of the globe, in America we complain when we get slow service at a restaurant. While millions of people sit helplessly and hopelessly in despair after losing everything (including their immediate family members) we hand out kudos to those who serve an hour a week in a soup kitchen. I realize that it sounds critical to make these statements. I’ve tried to find a softer way to make my point without sounding harsh, but I haven’t found a way to state the truth and not state the truth at the same time
I would like to suggest that service to others is not an additional duty to be undertaken in our “spare time” (actually, since we all get 24 hours per day there really is no such thing as spare time). Serving our neighbor is not above and beyond the expectation. It is the expectation and it should be a part of our daily lives. Not only is it an expectation, it is a minimum expectation. I didn’t come up with this idea on my own. I’m simply restating the same words we’ve all been given.
Serving others because we are obligated isn’t a new idea. The concept is over two thousand years old and it’s as applicable today as it was when it was first stated. Jesus said, “When you’ve done all that I’ve commanded, you’re still an unprofitable servant” (Luke 17:10). What did Jesus mean by this statement? I suppose it’s open to interpretation but I would like to suggest that what he meant was that when we’ve done all that He’s commanded we are still unprofitable servants. No rewards. No awards. As a matter of fact, if we read Luke 17:7-9, we see that even saying “thank you” is not required. (Yikes!) I should make the distinction here that there is a difference between rewarding and encouraging. We should always encourage and support each other along the way.
There is nothing wrong with showing appreciation; however, the danger in honoring those who serve is that it can stealthily become the end rather than the beginning. Unfortunately recognition can also become our motivation. The more we as a society hand out accolades for serving our neighbor, the more we lower the bar. Of course, the lower the bar the easier it is to step over. This wouldn’t be a big problem if there weren’t still millions of people in immediate need…still suffering…still hopeless…still dying.
The more society advertises that serving others is optional, the further we get from the truth. The truth is that we are commanded to love our neighbor and when we have done all that we’ve been commanded, we have only achieved the minimum.
Very simply, I believe that our culture is moving the wrong direction in terms of our attitudes on serving our neighbors (near and far). I realize that I am a long way from achieving the ranks of an unprofitable servant but there is no doubt that this is clearly the intended goal.
By Jo Bennett, TRP volunteer
recent comments