Servants Not Celebrities – Part Two
Matthew 24: 44 – 47
Everybody serves somebody. We are all under authority. Some refusing to be under the authority of no one become subject to their own strong will. A mother exhorted her adult young son regarding his strong self-will saying, “Remember it’s not about me.” To which he replied, “It is about me.” He was living in a “Me tight” world.
Richard Foster: “Whenever there is trouble over who is the greatest, there is trouble over who is the least. That is the crux of the matter for us, isn’t it? Most of us know we will never be the greatest; just don’t let us be the least. Gathered at the Passover feast, the disciples were keenly aware that someone needed to wash the others’ feet. The problem was that the only people who washed their feet were the least. So there they sat, feet caked with dirt. It was such a sore point that they were not even going to talk about it. No one wanted to be considered the least. Then Jesus took a towel and a basin and redefined greatness.”
Right here we must see the difference between choosing to serve and choosing to be a servant. When we choose to serve, we are still in charge. We decide whom we will serve and when we will serve. And if we are in charge, we will worry a great deal about anyone stepping on us, that is, taking charge over us.
But when we choose to be a servant, we give up the right to be in charge. There is great freedom in this. If we voluntarily choose to be taken advantage of, then we cannot be manipulated. When we choose to be a servant, we surrender the right to decide when we will serve. We become available and vulnerable.
Self-righteous service picks and chooses whom to serve. Sometimes the low and defenseless are served because that will ensure a humble image. True service is indiscriminate in its ministry. It has heard the command of Jesus.
Mother Teresa said, “I belong to Jesus, He must have the right to use me without consulting me.” That is the spirit of this text: “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8). Being His gives Him the right to use us.
Much of the Old Testament was Jesus’ pre-written biography. Numerous prophecies told of what He would be and do. Once on His earthly mission, He could choose to or not to do what was said of Him. Willfully, He was faithful under the authority of God’s Word. Every believer should be also.
The Father’s will was made known in the Old Testament. Jesus willfully put Himself under that authority.
Isaiah 61: 1, 2a identified specific things Christ was to come to do. He was obedient in doing them. We too are to serve under the authority of the Bible.
In Reno, Nevada, I heard of a partially-educated individual who had great faith. He was asked if He believed in the verbal inspiration of Scripture. He replied, “I sure do. I believe in the verbal inspiration, the adverbial inspiration, the noun and pronoun inspiration, and the conjunctional inspiration of the Bible.” Me too! If you believe it, obey it in doing so you are serving the Lord.