Have I become a more honorable or dishonorable servant of God? We can serve God as His handyman or a tool to get a job done because ‘someone has to do it’, or serve Him out of love for Him alone. Just because we are reasonably skilled at a task doesn’t mean we find His joy in doing it. We can find pride and joy doing the task while doing it, while our task is really only a good excuse for doing what we enjoy doing.
God carefully instructed the Hebrews how they were to perform worship to him. When they did so, He was pleased. However, as years past, He told them through Isaiah to stop doing those tasks because they had become as a stench in His eyes. Their heart was no longer in that worship, or they did it with wrong motives.
God doesn’t need us to fulfill a task for Him. He could have angels, the heathen or a donkey to do what He wants done. God has used people who didn’t even call Him their god. He called Nebuchadnezzar “My servant” (Je 25:9), only because he was a “rod of anger” whom God used to punish His idolatry-filled people. Nebuchadnezzar’s servantship to God was a dubious distinction; simply a handy tool whom He used, not a dedicated servant eager to serve Him.
The same could be said of Cyrus. He called him His “shepherd” (Is. 44:28), His “appointed king” Is. 45:1), even the “anointed one” (Is. 45:1). He was used as a tool to deliver the Jews from Babylon. Just because God uses a person does NOT mean He approves of them.
The “handy tool” concept of service is the lowest on the scale. God takes no joy in the person who is merely available or skilled at doing it. He uses him for a special purpose despite the person’s callous heart or the unrighteousness of his life. We wonder how God could use such a person. Yet, He does. He is not doing so because of the person’s heart. He does so because He is sovereign. He even used Balaam’s donkey to serve His purpose.
What was the basis of Him using Noah? Noah found grace in His eyes. Abraham also found grace in His eyes. Because of His blind obedience to Him, God called him His friend. The humanity of Jesus was such a delightful Servant that God introduced Him to the world as “My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Mt 3:17).
If I want to be an honorable servant to God, I must seek to be close to Him, so both of us will find joy in Him working through me. Jesus displayed such love and devotion to His Father that He totally limited His human desires. Out of profound love for His Father, He said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing.” John 5:19-20b (NLT)
It is not in our best interest to be doing ‘His work’ if are not joyfully doing it unto Him. Can we help each other reassess the real why we serve so each of us can become more honorable servants than dishonorable ones?