A Life of Servitude

   When we are living in the Kingdom of God, we have to abide by a completely different lifestyle than that of the world. The word tells us that to the world, the wisdom of God seems like foolishness. It is completely counterintuitive! Today, I think of this in the context of leadership. To the world, to be a great leader you are often taught to assert yourself and do whatever it takes to get on top. In the Kingdom we are taught that being recognized as a leader means putting yourself below others and letting God raise you up as He chooses to.

Luke 14:11  For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (NLT)

    

    So what does that look like? Well, it looks a lot like Jesus. During His life on earth, Jesus never asserted Himself over anyone-- even though He is the true King over all!! That's crazy humble. The mere fact that He even came down to earth in the form of a man is mind-blowing. Why would our savior come down to earth and not assert Himself as the true Lord over us and make us rightfully bow down and serve Him? Two reasons come to mind. One is because He created us with free will and wants us to decide whether or not to love and serve Him on our own. And the second reason is because Jesus was and is the ultimate leader,  leading by example. Our all-powerful King came down to earth to show us how it's done! What great love He has for us.

    The word tells us how humble He was and we see it again and again through His short time in ministry. He silences demons that call Him out as God and He even refers to Himself as the "Son of Man." Talk about humility. Additionally, Jesus was constantly serving those around Him. He miraculously fed crowds of thousands out of His love for them and even washed His own disciples' feet-- the ultimate sign of lowliness. And He tells us to live our lives in the same manner. 

Philippians 2:3-8 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (NIV)

John 13:12-17 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." (NIV)

    If we truly wish to be great in the Kingdom, we must lay aside being great in the world. We must forget our selfish wishes to be recognized and respected and lower ourselves to the lowest position imaginable. Be that person who comes early to church to help set up and stays late to help tear down. Not just in your church. Be that person in your job, your school, your family. Go out of your way to do everything you can to show others Christ's love through servitude. Become a servant. And do it with a joyful heart! God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

    And He says that whatever we do to the least of these, we are doing to Him (Matthew 25:40). Think about it that way. Whether you are thanked, recognized, or not even noticed-- it shouldn't matter when we get to serve our King! Shouldn't we jump for any opportunity to do that? It is a pleasure to be used in the Kingdom in any and every way. Let's start living our lives in servitude. That'll be sure to get Jesus some recognition! And it will fulfill our hearts as we serve Him by serving others. 

Matthew 20:26-28 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 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. (NIV)

Galatians 5:13-14 For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement:Love your neighbor as yourself. (HCSB)

Mark 9:35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (NIV)

Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. (NIV)