But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth, seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you?” (Psalm 50:16-17)
Are you aware that there are those God regards as “wicked servants”? I’m not referring to the wicked who openly oppose Him but those who claim to serve Him. Of course, one of the more prominent examples of this idea is conveyed to us by the Messiah. He refers to certain people who do many wonderful works in His name as those who “practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23). The Greek term, as well as its Hebrew equivalent, alludes to the notion that these are people who, with their mouth, professed God but who, in their own personal life, ignored His Word. That brings us to this thought: we can fool men but we can’t fool God.
It is sad but true, there are far too many who claim to be servants of God but who, in reality, will eventually be outed as “wicked servants.” In the Parable of the Talents, Messiah related how when the Lord returns, He will expect His servants to give an account for themselves. Those who did not do as they were told — those who only gave lip service to Him — will be exposed as wicked and lazy (Matthew 25:26). This, coupled with what He said in Matthew 7, addresses the danger of being one who appears righteous only on the outside but, inwardly, is full of corruption and deceit.
So what can we learn from this that can inspire us to be better servants? Those who sin in secrecy simply to avoid the scrutiny of others, are forgetting that God sees all. When someone fears only the eyes and rebuke of men, that person is advertising a complete disregard for God’s sovereignty. Furthermore, in time, those who only appear righteous are eventually found out, and when that happens, weaker servants might be wrongly influenced to replicate that same behavior, thinking “If they can do it why can’t I?” Others might become so enraged at the hypocrisy that they turn their back on God entirely. In short, what I’m saying is exactly what the Messiah has said — we must either be hot or cold, preferably hot but certainly not lukewarm, which is to say, mixed.
First of all, being mixed with good and bad — i.e. being deceptive and hypocritical — gets one vomited from His mouth. Not only that, the mixed servant is a wicked servant and is potentially complicit in the rebellion and unbelief of others. You see, when things are mixed and, therefore, difficult to discern between good and evil, many are led astray. And as you might recognize by now, this is the place where Satan does his best work. He never appears wearing a red suit and carrying a pitch fork; he comes as an angel of light, an imposter. We must counter this deception and be authentic witnesses of the Messiah and be a reflection of His light so that others may clearly see the distinction between Truth and falsehood, good and evil.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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