Principles Of Servanthood

For the past several days we have been looking at servanthood.  In particular, being a servant when we really don’t want to be.  That’s a tough one.  I don’t know that I’ll ever nail that one down completely but I’m going to keep working on it.  Today, I want to focus on what I feel are a couple of basic principles of servanthood.  Feel free to add some additional ones of your own.

1 - Remember that it is ultimately God whom we are serving.

In Colossians 3:24b, Paul encourages slaves to remember the following.  “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”  In my mind, this is huge.  Ultimately, we are not serving our pastor.  Or our spouse.  Or our children.  Or our boss.  Or our co-worker.  It is Jesus.  All service is to Him.  If we can just remember this it would give us an entirely different perspective.

2 - Servanthood needs to become a lifestyle, not something that we do.

If servanthood becomes something that we do, more often than not we will serve on our own terms.  When we want to.  When it is convenient.  To people whom we love and/or respect.  Yesterday we saw in Philippians 2:5-11 that Jesus took on the form of a servant.  In other words, He embraced a life of service.  It defined who He was.  How He approached life.  First, He was the servant of His Heavenly Father.  Secondly, He was the servant of the people whom He created.  If we would only see ourselves primarily as a servant of God, we wouldn’t chafe as much when we were treated like one.  It wouldn’t bother us in the least.

3 - Work hard and well

In Colossians 3:22-24 we read, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.”  I think that the best way to understand this is to put the shoe on the other foot.  If we had a servant, how would we expect them to act?  I believe that we would expect them to work hard and to do quality work.  So this is exactly how we should act when we serve others.  Work should hard and do our very best.

4 - Serve With An Uncomplaining Spirit.

Is there anything worse than a complaining servant?  Even if they don't verbalize their dissatisfaction the person being served can always tell.  In Luke 17:7-10 Jesus said, “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep.  Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat?’  Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink?’  Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?  So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” I love these words of Jesus.  And I am challenged by them.  Of course, it’s nice to be recognized for our service.  And even thanked.  But that isn’t the goal is it?  If it is, then we always face the possibility of being disappointed.  And complaining.  However, if we are serving God, then whether our service is appreciated or not does not matter.  We have simply done what we were supposed to do.  Thanks, while it is always appreciated, is not necessary.

5 - Be Faithful.

In Luke 16:10, Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little, can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will be dishonest with much.”  This is a much bigger issue that what it might first appear.  Once again, pretending that we have a servant, what would it be like if we never knew whether they were going to show up for work?  Faithfulness is a much under-rated aspect of servanthood.  There is something very comforting in reliability.  This means that if agree to help someone or to do something, we need to follow through on it.  Faithfulness means day in and day out.  All the time.  Every time.  It also means that we sweat the small stuff.  The little details that others may not even notice.

Lord, I realize that I am still in the process of learning how to be a servant.  Some days I do better at it than others.  I am glad that I have Jesus to look to as my example.  Continue to help me so that servanthood is second nature with me.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.