SERVANTHOOD

But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mar 10:42-45)

 We love to take this scripture and tuck it away in the file labeled “Ministerial Conduct” and then use it as a dodge if we deem our pastors or overseers “take on too much authority” and do not serve us enough according to our own standards.  However, to live according by our own standards is to exercise our own authority.  

 “But so shall it not be among you:”

Don’t we all want to be great?  A great parent, a great spouse, a great member, a great Christian, a great employee, a great friend, a great ~insert your personal dream here~.   We work and study hard and still we are painfully aware of the great gaping hole of “ungreatness” that is found in our lives.  We don’t always  necessarily desire to be “great” to exercise our authority, but isn’t it pleasant to have some recognition of our worth from those around us? 

but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”

Christians have a terrible habit of desiring to constantly be “ministered unto”.  This spirit has consumed the denominational world demanding churches entertain them with lively music and streaming do-gooder activities.  The messenger is to provide 20 minute sound bytes and tickle-me social messages and everyone claims “The Spirit showed up and showed out" when a good hopping time was had by all.   Even in The Church of God (The Chieftest of all) has expectations of how “God should react” to our expressions of the given moment.

However, our hearts cry and prayer should be "make me a servant". 

For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

When I moved to Arizona, knowing I would need to seek employment, I asked God for a job where I could minister to others.  Of course, the word “minister to others” often implies that we feel we have the authority to self-esteem ourselves above everyone else.  Yes, I am just as guilty.

God provided the job and I entered into a world that I am unfamiliar with.  Perfectly nice and interesting people who possess no concept of how steeped they are in sin.  The casualness and acceptance by denominational church-goers toward fornication, divorce and; remarriage, alcohol, gambling shocked me.  I knew those in the south who did these things, but there always seemed to be some knowledge of sin guilt attached to their particular lists of excuses and justifications.  But here, there seems to be a gross lack of knowledge unaccompanied by any lists of excuses or justifications.  This gross darkness is just the way it is.

I labored with the thought of how to reach and minister to people who speak the name of Christ but who according to Biblical Standards have no relationship with Him whatsoever.  I could cry out and preach all day long and would get absolutely nowhere because “where there is no vision, the people perish”.  Pro_29:18 

One day the owner of the building and business  who occupies the suite connected to ours arrived early and angrily threw out a bag of stinky trash right outside the open front door.  When I arrived at the office, I of course noticed it and wondered what "they were doing".  I watched with interest as his employees all walked by the trash, tip-toed around the office and whispered as to why the stinky trash was there. Interestingly enough, not one person in that office picked up the trash and walked it to the trash bin in the parking lot.  They were willing to let it sit there for every incoming client to see and smell!

Af first, the spirit welled up within me to say something to the business owner (the only male in that office) admonishing him that he needed to grow up and take out the trash!  But the Lord spoke to my heart that I needed to be their servant.  So I waited till everyone was busy and not looking and I secretly and quietly took the trash to the trash bin.  Later that very day, a lady who had been somewhat cold to me suddenly became very friendly and I realized that she must have had her blinds a little open and saw me take out the trash without me realizing it.  From that day forward she has made it a point to talk to me, ask me about "my religion", asked me to pray for her friends, and has invited me to go to dinner with her.

God has impressed me that I need to cheerfully, smilingly, willingly (albeit secretly) be a servant to these witnesses.  Just by quietly washing their dishes, cheerfully greeting them and their clients, cleaning up around the office, treating a co-worker to a Wendy's Frosty and offering to pray for their sick friends, I have found that God opens the door to opportunities to "speak His Word".

Christ gave his life as a ransom for many.  We are called to give our lives away, not to cherish it; not to be ministered unto, but to minister and be servant of all.

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