As I have contemplated the word ‘serve’ throughout this week I have had to postpone writing this article because I kept finding that service is multi-faceted and I was only planning on approaching it from one angle when it in fact has many. While we are called to serve in the context of a local church in varying degrees, our lives should be marked by serving others in every arena. Serving is not simply an action but a new way to be in this world where people are served and serve for a price. From drive-thru restaurants and customer service call centers, to the Apple Store and businesses such as Zappos.com, the world has begun to understand the effects of offering good service. Yet the type of service that we have come to expect to be offered in all areas of our consumer world is not what we would think of as ‘selfless service’. I mean 99% of the time you are paying someone to serve you, right?
So what is a Christian perspective on serving? Throughout the New Testament we have example after example of what it means to serve and you could even say that Christ’s whole life was a life of serving. In Matthew 20:28, Jesus says that He came, not to be served, but to serve and even serve to the point of death. That’s not in the Apple Store Concierge training manual! And Jesus makes it clear that ‘servant’ is not only His title but ours as well (Check it out: Matthew 23:11-12, 25:14-30, Mark 10:43-45, Luke 17:10, John 12:26). So how are we to wear this title? How are we supposed to serve?
I believe one of the clearest pictures that will help us answer this question is found in the Gospel of John:
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
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.”
-John 13:3-17
When Jesus knew that all power and authority was given to Him He lowered Himself and served the disciples by performing the task that no one wanted to do… wash their feet. Now after I had been walking around all day in the hot dirty streets of Jerusalem, amongst sand, dirt, manure, and other waste I would thinking twice about touching my own feet let alone someone else’s. However Jesus, the most powerful person in the room, did not think that He was above even the lowest act of washing the filth off His followers’ feet. Now we can jump straight from here to the application and say that we too should be willing to serve those around us by performing the lowest task out of love for our neighbors, that’s obvious. Yet many of us would rather take 5 minutes and do a task that demands humility rather than commit to be someone who works behind the scenes for an extended amount of time. We like to pick and choose our levels of service and we hold the right to relinquish our servanthood if it is not convenient for our schedules. However the New Testament idea of servanthood is much different than our contemporary edition. In first century culture, to be a servant meant that you effectively surrendered your own will and leisure to your master. Now if you were lucky you might have a gracious master, and we are blessed because our Master is the author of grace and works everything for our good, but He is still our master. And a servant is to be about his master’s business. Jesus describes this well in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The servant that did not work to expand his masters riches and kingdom suffered gravely. Our business is to be about expanding the Kingdom of God and serving the will of our master. And sometimes this means undertaking tasks that are not our ideal way of spending our time and are sacrificial in nature (disclaimer: there is not a limit or weekly quota of those tasks prescribed in the Bible either).
Jesus also makes it clear that part of God’s will is that we serve those around us. We do this by doing things that build them up and help make them better. Sometimes it is simple of acts to help them. It will always require us to take the focus off of ourselves and put it on the person we are serving. Christian service is by definition a selfless act. It is an act that looks out for the well-being of the other person. It asks the questions, how can I encourage, motivate, teach, help, relieve, comfort, lovingly correct, assist, or better this person. In essence it is the question, ‘How can I better disciple this person?’, for making disciples (whether that be seeing individuals won to Christ, or furthered in their relationship with Christ) is our main task and we do it best by leading a life that is exemplary in service.
Service is not something we seek credit for. The moment we grasp for credit in an act of service is the moment the true servant nature of that task slips away. Instead we should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty (Luke 17:10).” This is a heart condition that takes time to and consistency to develop. Many times our hearts will long for credit for something we have done and we constantly have to ‘take every thought captive to Christ,’ (2 Corinthians 10:5) and be about weeding the garden of our heart so that pride, envy, and resentment do not take root and destroy us. How many times has this happened in relationships of every kind where there is one who serves? Churches, friendships, and marriages are not immune to people with servant hearts turning into people with bitter hearts. To serve faithfully our actions must be knit to a humble heart.
So humility and selflessness are two things that should define our service, but in what context(s) does Christian service get played out? The argument can be and is made that to be a Christian and serve one need not serve in the context of a church. While it is certain that Christians should be consistently serving others outside of a church context, all Christians are called to serve in the body as well. Paul tells us in Ephesians that,
“…Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:11-13
Read 1 Cor 12:12-30. Between these two passages Paul clearly makes the case that Believers should be fulfilling their God-given roles in the body. If our task is disciple making and we not only do this individually but corporately then we should be serving on both an individual and corporate level. This necessitates that one be connected to other believers in using the gifts and graces with which God has blessed them so that the body might be ‘built up’ and grow. What does this look like? People being won to Christ and then discipled by others in the church. If you are not serving to accomplish or support one or both of these tasks in the context of a church then you are resisting God’s whole purpose and plan for your life. What does this look like at Remedy? It involves serving to support and better our corporate worship and outreach on Sundays, to participate and serve in the area of LifeGroups, to help disciple our children, to help us corporately grow as disciples through service to our community and those in need, and sometimes it looks like being a prophet to help the church see where it is dropping the ball or going against God’s will. The point is this: if you feel God has called you to be a part of Remedy then He has called you to join us in service and he has equipped you to do it. And here is the great news, as we join hand in hand to accomplish the task of seeing Transformed Lives Transform the World through the power of Christ and we each take up the call to serve we will more effectively see our mission accomplished. And while it is selfless and humble, when you serve you find your life and God exalts you!
“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”
Romans 12:9-16
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