For the longest time, being and becoming a servant wasn’t a very popular notion in the United States. We used to hear all the time about taking care of number one. In the eighties especially there was a tendency to think it was a dog-eat-dog world. I remember hearing sayings like, “If you’re not the lead dog, the view never changes.” The idea of being a servant was somehow demeaning.
But thankfully, the attitudes towards serving others has been shifting. Today it’s not uncommon at all to hear of people serving through a special cause. The richest man in the world—Bill Gates (the billionaire, not the pastor)—has established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and has given away over 525 million dollars in 2006 alone, using his enormous wealth in service to others, bringing vaccines to the poorest of the poor and seeking solutions to the problems of poverty and hunger. But you don’t need to be rich to be a servant to others. Even right here in Hudson a young man named Jarret Patterson saw the need of his fellow classmates to have decent clothing and decided to serve them by establishing the Kid’s Closet.
Though they may not specifically view themselves as servants—they may say things like “I just want to help” in reality this new trend towards helping others is a trend towards highlighting the importance of servanthood.
Servanthood—being a servant to others—is a good concept. We serve by helping people to address their needs. We serve by giving of our time, our gifts, and our resources. This can happen at any place and at any time. But as admirable as servanthood is, there is a much deeper, much richer concept that can only be practiced by those saved by the grace of Jesus Christ: Biblical servanthood.
The concept of Biblical servanthood is different than just regular acts of service! Throughout all of Scripture we are given examples of men and women who were in the role of serving others. Moses was a servant to the people of Israel as he led them through the desert and into the land promised them by God. King Solomon served the people by building a temple in which they could worship the one true God. And of course, for the ultimate example in being a servant we look to Jesus Christ.
While regular servanthood seeks to address people’s needs—whether those needs are physical, emotional, educational, agricultural, financial, or whatever—Biblical servanthood not only can address all of those but specifically seeks to do so according to God’s will and plan. In other words, Biblical servanthood both seeks to honor our relationship with God and also seeks to address people’s true need: their need to be connected to God.
Before we all go running out and begin serving, however, let’s get an idea of how Biblical servanthood works.
First, there is a proper order of priorities to keep in mind with all aspects of Biblical servanthood. We want to know who to put first in our list of priorities. Any guesses as to Whom that might be? Right, the answer of course is God! If you remember back from your catechism days, the First Commandment is . . . “You shall have no other gods before Me.” What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in Gold above all things. So as we think about Biblical servanthood, it’s good and right to keep God in our #1 of priorities.
Before we go any further with that list of priorities, though, maybe we should stop and talk about how we keep God at #1 as we serve.
There is a two-part definition of service. The first part is to supply the needs of others. Which brings up an interesting question: What needs does God have? What needs does He have? Having a need means that we lack something, some possession, some power to meet that need. Is there anything an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God, infinite in His power and wisdom, supremely majestic in His glory, He who alone is truly complete and self-sufficient . . . is there anything that this God lacks? No . . . no, of course not. In this sense, we cannot serve God.
So if we cannot serve God by supplying His needs, how can we serve God? The second part of the definition of service gives us that answer. The first part of service is to supply the needs of others, but the second part is that a servant fulfills the requirements of another. In other words, while we cannot serve God, we can be of service to Him. In still other words, though God Himself has no needs for us to supply, He nevertheless chooses us as His instrument of supplying the needs of others.
Jesus explains it this way in Matthew 25:31-40, “31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”
When we are of service to God—when God uses us to serve others—that is true Biblical service. The progression of true Biblical service goes like this: head to heart to hands. Biblical service begins with the knowledge that God has served me in the best way possible by reconciling Himself to me through Jesus Christ. It continues with the knowledge that He richly and daily supplies all my needs and that He would also use me to supply the needs of others.
From my head it moves to my heart, as I not just understand but passionately believe that my God is able to make all grace abound in me, so that in all things and at all times, having everything that I need, I will be able to abound in every good work, that in Christ I will be made rich in every way, so that, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:11, I can be generous on every occasion, and through that generosity God will be praised.
And then, as my mental attitude of service goes from my head, transforms into a passionate belief in my heart, it finds tangible expression in my hands as I perform acts of service to those in need. 1 John 3:17-18 says, “7 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” Service works from our heads to our hearts to our hands.
To be of service to God we serve the people He has placed around us. So to pick back up with our list of priorities, being a Biblical servant means keeping the order of: God—family—others—you. God first—because He is above all other things. Then family—because the Scriptures make it clear through numerous passages like that family—that kin—is one of the greatest gifts and also one of the greatest responsibilities God gives us. This is such a strong emphasis that Paul actually says in 1 Timothy 5:8, “8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Then others—because they are the very reason why God leaves us on this earth. Hebrews 13:16 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. And then, last but not exactly least, you. You will need to take some time for yourself in order to be an effective servant.
Each of us gets the same allotment of time as all of the others. 365 days per year, seven days per week, twenty-four hours per day. If anyone here has figured out how to get more than twenty-fours hours in a day, then let me in on the secret! But each of us also has the ability to manage those twenty-four hours to maximize the use we get out of them.
Since we all get the same amount of time, the key to managing it successfully is setting priorities and making goals. Our priorities are: God—family—others—me. Our goal is to be of service to God by serving others: our goal is for God to make us servants. Our example is none other than Jesus Christ.
Even Jesus Christ took time for Himself. Have you ever thought about that? Yes, He was truly God, having power and authority, but He was also truly man. He got tired. He needed time to tend to His own needs. He needed time by Himself to recharge.
The Gospels of Mark and Luke tell us it was Jesus’ habit to withdraw by Himself at certain times to be refreshed and to pray. So take note of that: even the best servant in the history of mankind realized His need for rest and recharging. We can’t hope to be a Biblical servant unless we also take the time that is necessary for private communion with God.
But it is even more impossible to be a Biblical servant unless we first allow Christ to serve us. Jesus Christ is not only your God and your Savior, He is your servant, as well! In Matthew 20:25-28 Jesus Himself says, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
We love because He first loved us, and we serve because He first served us, as well! He is great because He chose to be a servant, to humble Himself and to do what your needs required. Your needs required a sacrifice to cover your inability to properly please God. By ourselves we cannot please God nor be of service to Him. But (Revelation 5:12) “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Through the service of Jesus Christ done for us, we too can reach out in God’s service to others.
Twenty-four hours in a day, and each day will bring opportunities in each of those four priorities. You may choose—as some people do—to spend the entire day in serving yourself . . . but then you’ll never become a servant. You’ll have your priorities wrong.
Instead, follow the example of Jesus Christ. Believe upon Him, receive His forgiveness, and then go forward and use the time you have been given in service to others.
1 Peter 4:10-11 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
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