Serve Rather Than Be Served

"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.” - Matthew 20:28

I was reading Money Mastery by Tony Robbins, and he said something that brought me to these words of Jesus. “If you won't give a dime out of a dollar, you won’t give one million out of ten.” What a powerful concept to consider, and it made me reflect on my life. What have I been doing with the things God has given me? My money, my house, my car, my relationships, my children, and the list can go on. See, maybe it is just me, but it is so easy for me to ask God for more. I think I am humble about what I am asking for, and I think I deserve those things sometimes. Although I know the truth, I am a dirty rag and don’t deserve any favor from the Lord, His grace is more than enough. But I know His word also says, "For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord" (Proverbs 8:35).

So, I circle back to this quote and think about how much favor God has already shown me throughout my life. I ask myself what I have done with that favor? How have I stewarded, or to say it better, how have I paid it forward? I think a part of our human nature is the sin of always putting ourselves first. It brings me to Matthew 20, and it actually sickens me to realize how selfish I can be. How can a Holy King come off His throne to wash the feet of man? Yet we struggle to even perform a simple gesture of kindness toward one another. It really puts Jesus into perspective. How perfect He truly is, and there is no one like Him.

Sometimes we pray for more when we haven’t even used what we have been given to the best of its ability. God not only blesses us for the benefit of ourselves, but also blesses us to steward His blessing and be a blessing to His other children. I think the first issue in the cause is that we often struggle to see people in this world as God’s beloved children. It’s hard to be a man or woman after God’s own heart. His heart consists of bigger desires than our fleshly ones. He longed for reconciliation with the whole nation of Israel, not just certain people, but ALL. That He came down from His throne to shed His blood for us. Yet, we worry and focus on wanting earthly things.

But being the good father that He is, He blesses us, and then we misuse it. We often don’t think twice about what we can do for someone else. I think of how often I did things like holding on to my last $20 instead of tithing it to my church, or knowing someone needed a ride and hesitating or not even thinking twice about offering one. I quickly pray and ask God to fulfill a need of my own, but I turn the other cheek when God asks me to fulfill someone else's need. Obstacles and troubles of this world hit every single one of us, and Jesus told us it would (see John 16:33), but when we come together in unity, we can help relieve some of those troubles from each other.

What Tony Robbins said brings Luke 16:10 to mind: “He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much.” I think, before we pray for more blessings, we need not only to grow a heart of gratitude but also a heart willing to serve. Instead of focusing on our current problems, let us shift our focus to helping someone else with theirs. It is easy to see the areas where we are lacking, but what if we look for the opportunities God gives us to provide for someone with something He has already given us? I believe God is an ultimate provider and the God of abundance, and He will do more than we can ask, think, or imagine. But I also believe he is the same God who calls us to be faithful.

I know it’s easy to think, well, I don't have ten million dollars, shoot, you're probably saying, “I don’t even have a dollar to give” (I've been there before), but what about the other blessings God gives us, like our gifts and talents? Have you been using those gifts for others or only for yourself? Maybe instead of praying for more, we can start praying for God to show us the opportunities He has for us to serve someone with what we already have. I have a brother in Christ who is really good at writing encouraging letters and prayers, and so every month, he writes those letters and gets scripture cards, and he mails them to all his friends and people he knows from church. What a simple way to be faithful in a gift God gave him. I have another friend who has the gift of hospitality, and so she is always hosting gatherings at her house for dinners, coffee mornings, church groups, and other parties. I have another friend who is amazing with children, and so she offered to help babysit my toddler for me last summer while I worked my 12-hour shifts.

We may think it costs a lot to serve our friends and community, but in reality, we all have something God gave us with the intention that it will also benefit someone else. Maybe you are waiting for God to answer a prayer, to provide, to heal you, and maybe you are unsure of what gifts or abundance you have that you can share with someone else. Pray and ask God to reveal it to you. May we begin by taking what little we already have and multiplying it by first dividing it to fulfill the needs of those around us. Maybe this year will be the year we pray for God to ignite a desire in our hearts to truly be faithful servants. I know we think it will be better to be on a stage, running a church, going on mission trips, as a way to serve God’s kingdom. How about we pray, ask, and seek for the areas in our small, regular, everyday lives where we can first be faithful before God gives us more?

Faithfully Yours,

S.J