Being a Servant

Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV):

25 Jesus called them together and said, "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."

Not many people today remember the name of Booker T. Washington, but he was instrumental in helping African-Americans achieve their goals of education shortly after the end of the Civil War. Born a slave, after the end of the Civil War and his emancipation, Washington worked his way through school, eventually ending up with a PhD. So, when they were looking for someone to lead the newly formed Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, they turned to this bright star to be their first President.

Shortly after Dr. Washington arrived at Tuskegee, he was walking in an exclusive part of town, just trying to get his bearings, when a wealthy white woman approached him. Not knowing who he was but assuming he was just another poor black man, she asked if he would like to make a few dollars by chopping some firewood for her. Rather than being affronted by her request, Dr. Washington just smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and followed her into her yard where he proceeded to chop firewood for the entire afternoon. After he finished, he even took some of the firewood inside, stacked it by her fireplace, and neatly stored the rest in the shed outside for her to retrieve at a later time. As he was finishing up, a little girl happened by who recognized who he was, and who later shared this with the wealthy white woman.

The next day, a very embarrassed woman met with Dr. Washington in his office at Tuskegee. She apologized profusely for what she had done and for treating him as a menial servant. Dr. Washington brushed it aside and said that he occasionally enjoyed manual labor, and he always enjoyed helping a friend. It is this humble attitude of Dr. Washington that Jesus calls for in the passage from Matthew 20 above.

Jesus' disciples had a problem with constantly wanting to be the center of attention, with constantly wanting to be placed in positions of leadership and authority. Many times in the past they had quarreled over who would be greatest in the Kingdom. Here in Matthew 20, as Jesus begins His final journey to Jerusalem, we see His disciples once again jockeying for position. In fact, we read that the mother of James and John approached Jesus and asked that her sons be placed on his right and left hands when He came into His Kingdom. When the other disciples heard what James' and John's monther had done, they bristled and grew indignant, not only, I think, because James and John were seeking the higher positions, but because the other disciples didn't think of doing this themself!

Hearing their grumbling, Jesus called all the disciples together and told them that their actions reflected the values of the world and not of the Kingdom. "We don't do that in the Kingdom," He said. "That is what the world does. That is how the Gentiles do things. They try to exalt themselves over others and put themselves in higher positions of honor. But, if you want to be great in the Kingdom, you must humble yourself and serve those around you. If you want to be great in the Kingdom, you must be a slave to all, just as I did not exalt Myself but humbled Myself and became a man to serve and to offer My life as a ransom for all."

Even today in the church we still struggle with this desire for exaltation, with this need to be seen and recognized for who we are and what we have done. Pastors compare themselves to others based on the size of their church or the amount of money their congregation has. Members desire roles of leadership so they will be recognized for what they do. But, this is not the way it should be. We should seek to serve and to exalt others above us as we serve Christ.

To truly be great in the church today, we must possess three things:

First, we must possess a servant's hands. We must be willing to work behind the scenes, serving those around us. This may mean humbling ourselves and doing menial tasks, such as picking up trash or serving in a meal line for homeless people. The path to greatness begins with service.

Secondly, we must possess a servant's heart. In 1 Corinthians 13:3, the Apostle Paul writes, "If I give all my possessions to the poor and offer my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing." In other words, it doesn't matter what you do if your heart and your motives are not pure. We should serve out of gratitude for what Jesus has done for us. We should serve out of love because of the love that Jesus has shown for us. To have a servant's heart means that we serve with our hands because we love and sincerely want to help others.

Finally, we must possess a servant's hope. The ultimate goal of any service should be to please the Lord by ministering to the least of these. Our hope should be that others would be exalted and that the Lord be glorified and exalted above all. As we serve, we should never seek to take the higher seats of honor or the highest positions, but rejoice when our actions make it possible for others to assume those positions. Our hope is always to see Christ lifted up through our actions.

If we can just cultivate these three things in our life -- a servant's hands, a servant's heart, and a servant's hope -- then we will see great things happen through us for the church of Christ, and we will truly be great in God's Kingdom.