“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 24:45-51 (NKJV).

This story of the unfaithful servant was the subject of our August 17 home vespers. Our leading questions for this study were: Why did the evil servant behave as he did? Is his behavior suggestive of complacent Christians today who may not, in a literal sense, beat up their fellow Christians or hang out at bars or taverns?

We had a great discussion, as usual, with many excellent points contributed by the host and others present. A couple thoughts that came to me through this study follow:

Is it possible the evil servant’s behavior arose from frustration? Often we can tolerate what we perceive as flaws, defects, and vices in others for a time. If we expect order to be restored soon, and our grievances corrected, we may choose to wait those things out. But if those corrections are long in coming, and we begin to lose faith in a speedy remedy, our patience can wear thin. We begin to think of taking matters into our own hands. Although God says, “Vengeance is mine,” we start to wonder whether we can wait for God’s intervention. Is it possible that the beating the evil servant dishes out to his fellow servants represents the conflicts and in-fighting present in the church, arising from members who are fed up with their fellow Christians’ behavior? This is especially a temptation for those who have power or influence, and who feel others must adapt to their wishes.

“Eating and drinking with the drunken” seems to represent a complete sell-out. The evil servant is so disillusioned that he forgets his accountability and honor, and surrenders to self-indulgence and careless living. Is it possible that this aspect of the story mirrors the lives of Christians today, who, tired of their strained hopes and battered faith, and no longer seeking unity with each other, then give way to worldly ambitions and sinful pleasures? They completely lose sight of their responsibilities to give others regular attention and care (see v. 45), and fall into senseless self-seeking.

Our discussion went on a long tangent as we discussed what would happen if we kept Christ’s return in focus. We talked about our goals, and walking with God. All of this reminded me of a poem I learned in high school, which I shared with them:

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’

And he replied,
‘Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!’

(This is a partial quote; you can find the complete poem here.)

The beauty of that poem lies in what is says about human plans and vision. In the poem, light and darkness do not represent truth and error, or good and evil. They represent knowledge and foresight, versus lack of knowledge. Often as we stand on the threshold of the future, we want to know exactly what will happen: Will I get this job? Will I have friends there? What fate awaits me?

We suppose that if we had answers to these questions, we could make wise plans. Yet the author of this poem realized that walking with God, and trusting His guidance, is a safer, surer path than walking in the light of our own knowledge. In fact, knowledge can actually turn into a curse if we presume to think we can use it to chart our own course; in that case, it is more blessed to be in the dark, where we are compelled to seek God’s direction. Though God often may lead us in paths that seem strange or unnecessary or even cruel, at the end we always find, or will find, some happy surprises.