Sunday 11 Feb 2018

February 11: Proverbs 29:19

Key Verse: Proverbs 29:19
Servants cannot be corrected by mere words; though they understand, they will not respond.

Devotion:
It is difficult to explain to someone who has never known a servant that there is a difference between a slave and a servant. A servant is a willing helper who is being paid for the work they do whereas a slave is one who is not working willingly whether they are being paid or not. A servant (in the above context) is someone who has willingly come forward to fill the job vacancy. A servant can be anything from a home help to a qualified nurse – they may have a raft of different experience and expertise though. But how that servant conducts themselves is of the greatest importance.

If you were to take on a position at a company and work with a willing heart and work honestly as you were told what to do, your employers will continue to want you to work for them. But if you were to be dishonest and never completed you work, you would not last long. A servant is expected to do a certain amount of work for which they were taken on to do; they should be willing to do it honestly and willingly. It is when they start refusing to do that work the employer or master may become upset and start to rule with a rod instead of words – it may be the only thing that servant understands.

It is not right to think a servant will know more about what the master wants than the master themselves – nobody can know that unless they are inside the master’s head! It will not be long on before the servant does know the type of thing the master prefers or likes, but not their desires every day. The servant soon knows how to do the work but not what is required every day. We need to remember we are servants of God and not His slaves. We need to remember we should be willing workers in His camp. We have been given instruction manuals for the position (our bibles) but we do still need to go to the master every day and ask for guidance for that day. Listening to the answers of our prayers is most important because God may not be best pleased when we start acting like we know what God needs every day! When He asks, we should reply in words as well as in will and work. We can live a wonderful life as Christ's servants – so long as we are willing to prayer and obey!

Points to Ponder:
Would you take on a position as a servant?

Are you willing to be Christ's servant?