Being A Servant Means…?
In the wealthy western world, being served is almost taken to be a right and expectation. We want our food made and served to us quickly, we want the people at the supermarket check-out to be expedient and accurate, we want government/business decisions to be made, and acted upon, instantly – and perhaps more telling is that we expect those who we are in relationship with, to do whatever we want them to do, whenever we want them to do…all because we want them to…irrespective of their needs, wants or desires.
How did the western world get to this place?
That’s easy to answer. We took freedom too far. We want our complete freedom in all aspects of our lives. We want to be the ‘Masters’ of our own fate, and in being our own master, we enable ourselves to step on, or over anyone who gets in our way – in order to achieve our goals of wealth, happiness, prestige and success. And unfortunately, along with some dubious theological doctrines, the western church has swallowed ‘hook, line and sinker’ the “Me First!” mantra of the western world.
What this has done, is create a group of Christians who abrogate their responsibility to be servants, by merely being present in a congregation, giving of their tithes and offerings and saying “We'll that pays for the programs that help people!”…
This is ‘NOT!’ a biblical position of what it means to serve others. And the Bible has a great deal to say about servants/slaves and their characteristics.
When the Bible talks about ‘servants’, it almost unequivocally means ‘slave’ – this is especially true of the New Testament, where the word ‘doulos’ only means slave, and not the ‘servant’ that it is widely translated into.
We in the western world have significant cultural and historical issues with the use of the word slave, and what it entails. Yet, if Jesus (and God in general), is our ‘Lord and King’ then we must be his subjects and his slaves. Lord, King…these are titles of authority, not names. A lord, or a king have the highest level of authority within their kingdom. There is a structure and hierarchy to their kingdom, they have land and infrastructure. They command, and others obey.
So, what does being a servant mean?
Being a servant means…
A) Having a position of humility: Phillipians 2:3-4 “Do nothing according to selfish ambition or according to empty conceit, but in humility considering one another better than yourselves, each of you not looking out for your own interests, but also each of you for the interests of others.” – we cannot serve others, and more importantly God, if we do so out of ambition. In fact, if you look around the world today, God is bringing down church leaders who tried to turn the body of Christ into their own brands. A true slave must be humble because they have to do the bidding of their master. This requires setting aside any personal dreams and desires and being obedient to what God instructs you to do (John 15:14). Having an attitude of obedience and of submission, enables us to be humble, and to do what our Lord is asking of us.
B) Wearing clothing suitable for you work: A slave must wear attire suitable for their role, or a particular duty their master has instructed them to do. Consider this – a master asks their most loyal slave to take a message to a business partner, would that slave wear the same clothes that they were wearing to clean out the stables? No, absolutely not, that would be disrespectful to their master, and to the master’s business partner. Rather, they would go get cleaned up, change and then take the message. Romans 6 talks about being ‘slaves to righteousness’ rather than ‘slaves to sin’. This is an extension of what was said in the books of Job, Isaiah and Revelation, which talks about those who put their faith in God, wearing robes or righteousness (right living – living according to the commands of God). We need to be wearing the robes of ‘right living’ in order to go about doing the bidding of our Lord and King. We cannot go around looking like and smelling like we have been rolling around in the filth of the world, and still seek to be considered as respectful of our master.
C) Willing to be the least:A slave is the least of all people. Jesus knew this, and he tried to teach that to his disciples when he said in Matthew 20:26 “It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant…”. Or again in Matthew 23:11 “And the greatest among you will be your servant.” This is one reason why Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. It’s also nigh on impossible to do the will of another, if all you are seeking is glory and status for yourself. If you are going to put God, the King of Kings, first…then we must put ourselves last.
D) Willing to do the things that you don’t want to do: Being a slave means that you will be asked to do things that you don’t like doing, or don’t want to do. If we are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and to emulate what he did then it is important to live out 1 Peter 2:21 “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his footsteps…”.
E) Not serving two masters: Luke 16:13 “No domestic slave is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.” – as Christians we cannot serve both the quest for the things of this world (wealth, influence, prestige and power etc) and Jesus our Lord and Saviour…whose gospel is actually counter to our current culture.
The world’s concept of slavery is to brutalise and diminish human beings, for the benefit of one’s self and financial position. Slaves are seen as material possessions to be bought and sold, and their life is regarded in financial status rather than their intrinsic worth. However, Jesus’ concept of slavery, is very much different to that of the world. Eph 6:5-8 provides us with a glimpse of a changed perspective. It talks about how we should do things for our earthly employers (and others), not for the sake of being seen (ie like virtue signalling), or for pleasing people…but rather because we are slaves of Christ.
Even Jesus takes this line further when in John 15:14-15 he says “You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, because the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I have heard from my Father I have revealed to you.” – this concept was not as foreign to the believers of the 1st Century as it is to you and I. In those times, it was not uncommon for valued slaves to be cherished by their masters and be given great freedoms and authority within their master’s household. It is one reason the centurion asked Jesus to heal his slave (Matthew 8). Or in Matthew 24:45 where he says, “Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their food at the right time?”
Jesus wants us to be co-labourers in his work. God changes the narrative of slavery, to be one where we become co-heirs with his son Jesus, we in effect are slaves which become highly favoured, and are adopted into the family. In everything that we do – be it great or small - we should always be seeking to hear…“Well done, good and faithful slave!” (Matthew 25:23a).
May the Lord our God, the King of Kings grant you the strength and wisdom to set aside your flesh, and position yourself in full obedience, as slaves for Christ. May you seek the treasures of heaven, rather than earthly treasures which moth, rust and decay can rob you of. When you finally see our Lord and Saviour Jesus, face to face, may he utter the words …“Well done, good and faithful slave!” to you. God bless you mightily as you continue to seek his presence.
Written: April 23rd 2022