Christ talked about two types of servants in the New Testament. We are familiar with His words which we would all like to hear at His return: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:23).

This is an awesome statement, pointing to our future reward for being faithful, ruling in the Kingdom on the earth in the Millennium (Revelation 5:10).

“Well done” is music to our ears if we were told this by our manager or supervisor at work since it would signify that we not only did a good job but that the boss is very pleased with the work we performed. Hearing a compliment like this inspires us to continue to do good and even make attempts to excel in the tasks we have been given to do.

Notice the word “good.” If something is good then it is not bad. The fact that Christ said the servant was good is a very positive thing. It is much more than a manager or supervisor telling us, “good job,” which implies a job well done, bringing a swelling of joy to the hearers of such a nice compliment. Here, Christ is calling the servant “good”—not just the work which he did.

Notice the word “faithful.” If that isn’t also music to our ears, I don’t know what would be. Being called faithful means we did what was required of us. We towed the line, we endured, we did not throw in the towel even in the face of trials and adversity. We kept the faith. We were engaged in the commission of warning the world of impending doom in the near future; of preaching hope at the end of the trials coming on mankind; of proclaiming the future for those faithful servants and the promise of the resurrection and potential for all as God’s plan is rolled out; of getting the gospel—the good news—out to the world. All these aspects are encompassed in the word “faithful,” as applied to the servants of God.

Notice the word “servant.” We are not slaves or servants of Satan but rather slaves or servants of the living God, with the potential of becoming God.

This statement of how Christ is pleased with our performance should inspire us to complete the task we have been given.

Here is the other side of the coin.

Matthew 25:26-30 says:  “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.  So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Notice the word “wicked.” This is not exactly what we would like to hear from someone above us. Wicked also means malicious and derelict, implying we failed to do the will and desires of what Christ expected of us.

Notice the word “lazy.” This is hardly a recommendation if we are looking for a job. Lazy implies neglect to do what was required of us; in other words, a miserable failure.

The unprofitable servant did nothing with his talent, not even putting it in a bank to draw interest, but he buried it. What was his reward? He lost the talent that he had been given. And he was cast into outer darkness. This is probably not what he expected, but he was a total let-down to what Christ expected of him.

So the question is this: what type of servant are you and do you want to be?

There is a lot of talk about making the world a better place, but the reality is that under Satan’s tutelage and administration, this world is not going to get better. Rather, it is heading for complete and utter annihilation.

Matthew 24:22 tells us: “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

THIS LOOKS LIKE A PRETTY GRIM OUTCOME FOR MANKIND. Is there any hope FOR US?

We know that the only viable and enduring solution lies in the return of Jesus Christ to end the madness of man’s rule and to put Satan away for a long duration of time, to give some relief from his negative influence on this world.

When this has occurred, we read about the conditions in the Millennium in the book of Isaiah: “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:2-4).

These are encouraging Scriptures and should inspire us to maintain our zeal to complete the Work we have been given to accomplish, prior to Christ’s return. The end of war is just one aspect of the changes we will help to bring about in the future. We can also see that the worship of God will be established, including keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days. Wanting to be taught God’s ways in the above Scripture in the book of Isaiah includes worshipping Him in the prescribed manner, as outlined in Leviticus 23.

It is really important for us to remain faithful to our calling and see the present job through, since we will have such a positive powerful impact on the world in the future. As sons and daughters of God, we will be able to really make enduring positive changes to this world.

Our training now will eventually qualify us to be involved in this worldwide effort to implement the changes to truly make the world a better place. Paul expressed the current situation and looked to a future solution in Romans 8:20-23:

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;  because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.   For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.  Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption [better: sonship], the redemption of our body.”

Notice, the creation will be delivered from the bondage of Satan. And it groans and labors with birth pangs, awaiting the arrival of the firstfruits of those in the first resurrection to change this current evil world. Let’s ensure we are up to the task in remaining faithful to the end. The world desperately needs us.

As we approach Passover, we are admonished by God to examine ourselves in order to partake of the Passover in a worthy manner, lest we fall under condemnation:

“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27).

This self-examination is required since we have a tendency to get so involved in our work, marriages and other activities that we generally don’t take the time to see how we are doing spiritually and we at times let things slip.

Since the Days of Unleavened Bread picture putting sin out of our lives for seven days, it shows that completely putting sin out is not an easy task which can be accomplished in one day; rather, we have to really work at it.

Examining oneself requires that we honestly evaluate how we are doing spiritually. Have we made headway in being more like Christ and walking in His footsteps? Are we closer to God than last year? Have we overcome rather than succumbed to sin? Have we replaced bad habits with good habits? Have we replaced sin with righteousness?

It’s easy to let things slip a bit, humanly speaking, in letting down in prayer, study, meditation and fasting which are the tools for maintaining a good relationship with God—all of which is needed so that we can grow spiritually stronger.

Satan, the accuser of the brethren, is always looking for opportunities to trip us up and get us to sin. A little bit of compromise is like a little leaven (sin) which leavens the whole lump.

Satan is compared to a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). A lion does not attack a healthy animal knowing it reduces his chance of success. He looks for a weak, wounded or young animal, since they cannot escape so easily.

If we are strong spiritually and close to God, Satan will leave us alone, but we have to resist him as admonished by James:

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

We are in a better position to accomplish this if we are drawing closer to God and not relying on our own strength. It’s a spiritual battle we are fighting, and we must be spiritually armed and ready.

Let’s ensure we are doing a thorough self-examination and making the effort to put sin out of our lives in order to partake of this Passover in a worthy manner.

When you reach your mid-seventies, there are fewer and fewer events in your life that really surprise you. I had one such incident near the end of December of 2017. I went to Walmart in Penticton to pick up a few things and to my dismay, when I got back to my car, the battery was dead. I have made it a habit to carry jumper cables in my car, so I lifted the hood, put the jumpers on the battery and walked to a man in his mid-fifties with his wife in the parking lot who were just getting out of their car. I asked them if they could help me by giving me a jump start with his car. To my amazement, the man said no. Somewhat shocked, I approached another man with his wife who were returning to their car, and they were happy to help me out and I got my car going.

I was troubled for several days over this incident, having a hard time believing that a person would not help another when he needs help. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, a person should help another in need.

The story of the Good Samaritan comes to mind (Luke 10:30-36)—a story demonstrating true love for our neighbor.

This parable told by Christ describes a man who fell amongst thieves and robbers. He was beaten and left for dead on the side of the road, only to be passed by a priest and a Levite who did nothing to help him. Yet a Samaritan stopped, bandaged him up, brought him to an innkeeper and paid the innkeeper to look after him, while he continued on his journey. Interestingly, Jews wanted to have nothing to do with Samaritans. They avoided and looked down on them, which is demonstrated by the Samaritan woman at the well. In total violation of Jewish custom and “tradition,” Christ asked her to give him a drink of water, which surprised the woman as He, an unmarried Jewish man, would be willing to talk publicly to a Samaritan woman and ask her for a drink.

John 4:9 states: “Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, ‘How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?’ For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”

In His parable, Christ chose a good Samaritan expressing genuine love towards his neighbor, while Jewish leaders refused to do so.

Thinking about the incident I experienced, if this was the man’s attitude in good times we enjoy today, what will it be like in bad times? Matthew 24:12 [in the Authorized Version] tells us that because of lawlessness, iniquity or sin will abound, the love of many will wax cold. The frightening fact is that Christ is addressing here members in the Church. It’s somewhat perplexing to think that the love of many (not a few) would grow cold in the Church; yet, that is what Christ warned us about. This is one of the effects of sin—loss of love, a non-caring cold manner, abounding and ever increasing.

When such an attitude can develop in the Church, how much more will it be prevalent in the world. The world is in a complete mess and you have to wonder how long God is going to allow things to go on. We are all suffering, as it were, from the effects of sin, either nationally or on a personal level. If not dealt with, sin, like leaven, will grow and “deal” with us.

As Church members, we have to remain focused on the job given to us and not allow sin to take a hold of our lives. We must not be like the cold-hearted priest and Levite who plainly saw the man fallen under the robbers, being injured and in physical distress, but they did nothing to help him. Rather, they looked the other way, showing us how not to love our neighbor. WE must be DIFFERENT.

One of the best motion pictures I have seen is “Seabiscuit.” It tells the story of a little race horse in the 1930’s. As the owner in the movie put it when asked why his horse kept winning: “The horse is too small, the jockey is too big, the trainer is too old and I am too stupid to know the difference.”

The jockey explained that it was not the size of the horse but it was the heart. Seabiscuit had “a heart” to run, beating all the competition at the time, which was an inspiration for everyone because he was seen as the underdog.

Paul reminds us that we are also in a race. 1 Corinthians 9:24 states: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”

Our spiritual goal as true Christians is not to come in first while nobody else gets a prize, but rather, to finish the race and to cross that finish line. But we need to have God’s help in this, and we must never give up or “take a break.”

There is a good lesson in the story about the race between the hare and the turtle (called “Slow and Steady”). The hare knew he could beat the turtle but got distracted. He lost his focus, paused to rest and fell asleep, while the turtle just trudged along at a steady pace. Once the hare woke up and realized that the race was about to be lost, he hurried to the finish line but it was too late—the turtle had already won. After that, as the story goes, the hare always reminded himself, “Don’t brag about your lightning pace, for Slow and Steady won the race!”

There is also an important lesson in the parable with the ten virgins, which is recorded in Matthew 25:1-13:

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

The foolish virgins thought they had enough oil (symbolizing God’s Holy Spirit) to see them through to the appearance of Christ, but because of the delay of the Bridegroom’s coming, they found themselves wanting. They went to get more oil but when they returned, the door of entry into the Kingdom was closed.

We cannot get into a mindset of “My Lord delays His coming” and lose focus, lest we lose out on our potential. As we approach the time of Christ’s Return, things will get harder and we will be tested and tried. There will be at least two types of people in God’s Church at the onset of the Great Tribulation—those who were focused and did what was required of them so that they will be protected at the Place of Safety, and those who lost focus and zeal and who perhaps allowed compromise to creep in; they will need more serious “refining” in the Tribulation so that they may also get their crown and white robes.

The question is, to which group will you belong?