There are people who do believe in God, but actually they behave exactly as unbelievers, and really they are unbelievers. ‘I believe in God,’ they say, but they don't believe in judgment, they don't believe they will ever have to give an account to him. They are not afraid of him, they don't believe he is holy and that he cares how they live. Really, they don't believe in him at all. It is a fantasy that they say they believe in God. Today people are saying, I don't believe he is there at all. I don't believe he will ever come; therefore I am free to do as I like. I am not created. I am not a servant. I am not made by a God. I don't owe him anything. I can do whatever I like.
The unfaithful servant plays the master himself; he is doing as he likes. That is what we do before conversion. We are unfaithful to God. We don't acknowledge him. We have become our own God, and we do what we want. We decide what is moral, and what we can do. We say, ‘No one has to give account to God; I am only accountable to myself. I am not a servant. I am lord and master of my own life, and I will do just what I like. I don't believe in God, and if there is a God, he is just a force. He either isn't there at all, or if he is, he doesn't mind what I do and what I say and I can carry on as though he wasn't there at all. God doesn't see; if he's there, he's just not interested.’ That is how we proceed. So I abuse my gifts and powers and I waste my time doing nothing for him and not even considering him.
In Matthew's gospel, this servant is called ‘that evil servant’: beating other people, exploiting them. Do you do this? You say, ‘No, I have never punched anybody, hit anybody, struck anybody over the head with a chair, knifed anybody. I don't go around beating people.’ It's the language of the parable; this is picture language. What it means is that when you are not interested in God, and you are a law unto yourself, and you are the centre of your own life, you do constantly exploit people. For instance, as children, you do it to father and mother. ‘What are they there for? For me. I don't care about them. I'm not going to worry about how they fare. It's what they do for me that counts. If they don't do it for me, then I'm angry with them.’ We are exploitative, manipulative. We take advantage of other people: do them down, tread on them if it helps us in our career. The language of the parable has got the rottenness of the human heart in this servant quite clearly described.
‘Eating and drinking’ – that is picture language for just doing what we want, how we want, when we want. That is how we sin against God. ‘I don't owe anything to God. I'm not under his law. I won't do as he says. I'm here for me alone.’ That is what this picture of the unfaithful servant is about. Drunken orgies: that means to say, sensual surrender. There's a lot of people doing that today. There's a lot of people in the sexual area, who do exactly what they want. They reject the commandments of God and morality and decency and even human dignity, and they make wrong right and give themselves the liberty to do as they please. ‘I'm here to enjoy what I like. Some people would call it sin. I don't call it sin. I have a right to do just what I want. I can deny human dignity and restraint and forbearance. I deny all that and have whatever sensual pleasure I like.’ But there is judgment for this servant.