SERVANT??? Who you callin' a servant?

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 @ 12:10pm

From: My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers 
 

The Determination to Serve

 Matthew 20:28 – “The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto; but to minister.”

Paul’s idea of service is the same as Our Lord’s: “I am among you as He that serveth”; “ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” We have the idea that a man called to the ministry is called to be a different kind of being from other men. According to Jesus Christ; he is called to be the “doormat” of other men; their spiritual leader, but never superior. “I know how to be abased,” says Paul. This is Paul’s idea of service—“I will spend myself to the last ebb for you; you may give me praise or blame, it will make no difference.” So long as there is a human being who does not know Jesus Christ, I am his debtor to serve him until he does. The mainspring of Paul’s service is not love for men, but love for Jesus Christ.

*If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we will soon be crushed and broken-hearted, for we shall often meet with more ingratitude from men than we would from a dog; but if our motive is love to God, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving our fellow men.

Paul’s realization of how Jesus Christ had dealt with him is the secret of his determination to serve others. “I was before a perjurer, a blasphemer, and injurious person”—no matter how men treat me, they will never treat me with the spite and hatred with which I treated Jesus Christ.

*When we realize that Jesus Christ has served us to the end of our meanness, our selfishness, and sin, nothing that we meet with from others can exhaust our determination to serve men for His sake.

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Ouch! These words from O.C. hit me hard today. I have been serving select people and choosing to complain (in private—to Chelsea—of course) about the actions of others. I am honored by some, misunderstood by others, and can find scores of “faults” around me which give reason for ingratitude and superiority to creep in. How do I serve my Lord in my interactions with others? How do I take each moment as an opportunity to serve, not as one for critiquing and later evaluations?

One unexpected pitfall I am hanging over the edge of: I have begun to read and study in order for good words to teach, not for personal application. This is a horrible to be staring into! I begin to instruct others without seeing my own life. When teaching, my words begin to transform into accusatory words and result in frustration when I do not receive the response which they “ought to” produce. Yet I myself have not responded fully to the message either! O hypocrite me!

Instead, I should turn all words upon my own heart and see the desolation there, humble myself before my God and Master, and seek to become the lowly, humble instrument which I’ve been made into. Then, when I am called upon to speak, I can talk as a fellow wash woman offering suggestions to my neighbors as I plug along the road with them.

Oh that I might be a servant of all; turning not to my own observations for results to satisfy my “preacher’s ego,” but turning to my Master to see if He is pleased. “Well done, good and faithful servant.”