BEING A SERVANT
by Brandy Webb
We live in a selfish world. It is not a new thing, for Christ warned His disciples of it when ten of them became jealous and angry over James and John asking to sit beside Him in the Kingdom. Jesus warns them “that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be yourservant…For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others…” (Matt 20:25-26, 28, NLT, emphasis mine).
We are commanded to serve each other. Just because we live in a selfish world does not give us justification to act like the world. We are to be set apart, different, unique, and the Bride of Christ who mimics her husband. No excuses, no loopholes; there is nothing that lets us get away with selfishness and a non-servant attitude.
The Son of God came to this earth to serve us, and in order to keep up with the family tradition, we really need to work on serving each other. The neat thing about serving others is that it gets us out of ourselves. It shifts our perspective from looking inward to looking outward. It also helps with our moods. We receive joy, peace, and contentment when we serve others. It gives us a chance to allow our Godly talents to increase, and it shares His light with someone else.
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Pet 4:10-11).
Our job on earth is to be ambassadors of Christ. We are His representatives. This requires action. One small action we can do to change the life of another person is to serve others, to allow someone else to go first. Let us strive to value others above ourselves by looking to their interests and not just our own (Phil 2:3-4). When we serve, we become different from the world. It is a small way of fighting back against the wiles of the Devil. Yet, it has great power because it spreads God’s light, and it adds increase to both the beneficiary and the servant.