How I understand the parable of delayed gratification in Luke

[jennifer_bloom]

In the bible Jesus tells a parable about a master who after his slave has finished his work tending sheep or plowing in the field, tells him to prepare his supper and get himself ready and wait for him while he eats and drinks and than the slave can eat and drink

This verse is not as depressing as it seems

It divides the world into two categories of people - those who serve physical and material need like the those who plow in the field and those who serve social functions like the married housewives who raise their young children or the personal support workers who change diapers. The first part means, both types of work are equally valid and important.

The second part means to prepare yourself so that you may be in a position to receive God’s favour and righteousness, this means reorienting your mind to the truths of the bible and systematically removing the weeds that destroy faith like anger and hate

To get yourself ready is to engage actively in the pursuit of personal growth either through athleticism or through mental training or academic upgrades or through personality positive psychological habituation or knowledge acquisition or inner wound healing

Now the eating and drinking is a parable that you find your purpose while trying to give purpose to others

You find your love while trying to show love to others

You find your status while trying to give status to others

You find your peace while giving peace to others

It is about self discovery through service and self provision through mutual growth

When you serve the bodies and minds and lives and circumstances of others and heart and spirit of others, God will serve your body and your circumstance and your mind and your life and your heart and your spirit

[Maraneva]

Hey, keep writing these personal interpretations. They're interesting to see a different perspective that may not have been thought of otherwise.

[Jjpayne]

I think service to God and service to others comes with real rewards, in this life and in the afterlife

[Jjpayne]

Thank you for the mho 😊

[Exterminatore]

Before I go any further I wanted to state that what I am going to say I say with humbleness, love and gentleness. I hope it comes across that way and not as a stern rebuke.


You do a lot of these “how I interpret the story of...” posts.


Scripture says this:



“knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1:20-21‬ ‭ESV‬‬
This is saying that God’s word does not originate from man. As you know the scriptures were written under the inspiration or guidance of the Holy Spirt. The individual authors indeed held the pen and made the stokes on paper, but it was the Holy Spirit who directed them what to write.


Since the scriptures come not from man, but God as the scripture above tells us, the meaning also comes from God. Scripture backs up scripture. Other scriptures and the concepts and precepts therein will often give us the meaning or context of understanding the scripture we are laminating on.


It doesn’t matter what your personal interpretation is, it matters entirely what God’s is. One office of the Holy Spirit is also to teach us. To enable us to discern truth from error.


Scripture also says this:



“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12:36-37‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”
‭‭James‬ ‭3:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

[Exterminatore]

Scripture is clear that we will be judged for every careless word we speak. Certainly if one was teaching the scriptures and taught falsely intentionally or taught falsely just by mistake they will give an account for this. It would be a serious matter to God miscommunicating his word either intentionally or mistakenly. Those being familiar enough with God’s word to teach it will be judged on their teachings all the more and on their behavior all the more? Why? Because the more you know the more you’re accountable for in-terms of your own personal conduct and careless words, that is to say even the most insignificant verbal sin, including negligence in properly teaching God’s word will be judged. When the Jewish scribes used to transcribe the scriptures from old parchment to new parchment there were very strict rules for doing so. For example if when the copy the scribe made was reviewed and determined there was even a spelling error they weren’t allowed to make a correction. They would have to throw out the entire scroll or individual piece of paper and make a new one as to ensure it was 100% correct and error free. They knew that God is a holy God and that to make even a simple spelling error or any error in regards to God’s word was intolerable. That they would be guilty of negligence and thereby altering God’s word. If that’s true for a simple spelling error, how much more so with what we teach? There was a famous preacher and forgive me because I forgot his name. Perhaps it was John Knox or one of the puritans who collapsed crying before giving his first sermon. He did so because he was terrified to give his first sermon because should he misspeak he knew God would not be pleased, and out of fear and reverence towards God concerning the matter he sobbed for close to an hour and a half before he was finally able to get in the pulpit and deliver the sermon.

How much more should we be concerned on what we teach? Should our attitudes be likewise?

[Exterminatore]

I say this because some, well honestly most of your interpretations of scripture are off the mark. By all means teach the scriptures. We are told to make disciples of all nations according to scripture. Just make sure you’re accurate in your teaching. The only way to do that is study, study study. Get a good study Bible or 5 lol. Get a good concordance. Look up Greek and Hebrew words. Read commentaries on scripture from past and present theologians who teach sound doctrine. I appreciate your hear in sharing scripture on here. I commend you for being faithful and brave to discuss these things. To tell others. I would just encourage you to be fully correct in what you are sharing. God boyfriend with you.

[Exterminatore]

This bring me to this post and your understanding of this parable you are referencing. You did not mention the chapter and verse of the parable, and if I’m not mistaken you didn’t mention the book. Based on your description of the parable I believe it’s this one you’re referencing:

““Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭17:7-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Am I correct? If so your understanding of it is completely wrong. In fact it’s so far off I can’t even understand your point in relation to this scripture.

The point of this parable is that the slave or servant should not expect a reward for doing his duty. Doing ones duty is not going above and beyond the call of duty. It’s doing what’s expected. The standards Christ has set seem to be very high, yet we should not expect some special reward for obeying his commands nor should we think we’ve performed some meritorious dead or service in carrying out our expected duties. Simply put a slave or servant is expected to preform his delegated tasks and as we are Christ’s slaves or servants we ought not think of ourselves as being meritorious in the carrying out of the Lord’s precepts, nor ought we expect some reward for doing what was only expected of us in the first place. That is the point of the parable. Please compare the actual meaning to your understanding of it.

[OddBeMe]

Christians should be used to delayed gratification. Wait until death to see they were worshiping nothing...

[Anonymous]

Instant gratification is encouraged in the media where protagonists are always young prodigies who are successful at the early age. I'm 30 and still waiting for the right time. Hence why I hate superheroes, romantic comedies and remakes.

[MyBigMystery]

Why is it even important it's just a poor story stolen and badly translated you know this but it's still important why?

[thothamon]

It's easy to believe this when you're not a slave. That's a cop out and justifies slavery.

[stuntbrain]

Me likey parabolas