Unprofitable Servants

Louisa Ann Irene Ikena reflects on the humble, unassuming attitude of a servant, emphasizing Luke 17:7-10 and the “unprofitable servant."

"Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here immediately and take your place at table'? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished'? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commended? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’” (Luke 17:7-10 NABRE) 

I have had a complicated relationship with this Bible passage for a long time. On the one hand this verse is God’s Word.  I respect and reverence that fact. On the other hand, I have an emotionally repellent reaction to these verses. 

The first time I ran across this verse in a personally meaningful way, I read it in a book and said out loud to the book, “That’s not in my Bible!” Then I looked up the chapter and verses in my own Bible, and I stood corrected. The whole teaching of Jesus is right there regarding how we are called to have a servant’s attitude. 

Power, hierarchy, and servanthood

In this day and age, we don’t have a huge amount of masters and servants, but we certainly can relate to people in hierarchies and people in charge who have greater power. When I read about a servant coming in after plowing or tending sheep, I think of “worker bees” or “average Joes and Janes." The bottom line is that this crowd includes most of us. So when I come home from working all day, what are my expectations? Do I expect special treatment or average treatment? Do I feel entitled to something more? 

The truth is that I have struggled with feeling entitled. That entitlement is the reason why I had such an emotional repulsion to this verse from the beginning of my wrestling match with it. 

The universal call to holiness

I grew up thinking of priests and sisters and lay missionaries as better than average. And I wanted to be counted in their number. It is taking me decades to wrap my mind around our universal call to holiness. All of us are called to minister and work for Jesus wherever God has placed us. We are to be the light of the world, illuminating even the darkest crevasses around us. 

Coming in from our daily mission field, yes, I admit I have thought I deserved special treatment. The words, “Come here immediately and take your place at table” do not sound so farfetched to my ear. To me, those words are in alignment with the verse, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NABRE). 

In Luke 17, Jesus teaches that a servant is expected to serve, not to be served. The parable asks whether the master is grateful to the servant for doing his or her job. And Jesus is teaching me the healthy attitude of a servant — simply doing what needs to be done, without fanfare or entitlement. One word sums it up: humility. 

Therefore, yes, I continue to come to Jesus when I am weary, and the vast majority of the time, I keep on keeping on.  God loves us through it all. I experience this love, not because I am somehow entitled to it. I experience it because God is love. Love is who He is and how He gives 24/7.

In imitation of God’s steadfast, constant love, I am called to keep on keeping on as an unprofitable servant, doing God’s will — doing what I am obliged to do, in love, one day at a time. 

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Copyright 2024 Louisa Ann Irene Ikena
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