The Unworthy Servants
Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table'? Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me; put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'
Luke 17:7-10
The apostles had just asked for more faith. Jesus' reply included this bracing word about posture: obedience is not a favor we do God.
This parable guards the heart against the oldest religious poison, the sense that God now owes us. Every commandment kept was simply duty, which frees obedience from scorekeeping and turns everything God gives into what it actually is: grace.
Serve without invoicing heaven. When you have prayed, given, and forgiven, resist the whisper that God is now in your debt. The reward is real, but it is a gift, never a wage.