A Servant Who Leads
“For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”
Expecting to be Served
I have to confess that there are times I want to be known as a leader who serves, not a servant who leads. What’s the difference you ask? Let me try and explain.
As a parent of toddlers it has become all too apparent to me how selfish they can be sometimes! I know that sounds harsh to some but if you’re a parent you probably know what I’m talking about. A while back my daughter came and asked me for a snack from her snack drawer. This is a drawer we have for her that she can (and has) frequently been able to go and get snacks from. I tell her, “sure go ahead and get one.” to which she responds,
“No! YOU get it.”
Have you ever had the expectation of being served? If you’ve ever been to a sit-down restaurant you’ve probably entered with the expectation of being served a menu and your food. Many of us find it so natural to be served.
It is very unnatural for us to serve others. No body wants to think of themselves as a servant. Yet this is what scripture calls us to. We’re called to serve others as servants of Christ Jesus. To look to the interests of others first. What are the marks of those who serve others?
Are you cheerful at the good news of others?
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. Philippians 2:19
We’re taught from a young age in our culture that to find happiness you need to achieve. You need to accomplish this or that. You have to climb the ladder, grind it out, figure it out and get great news. Life begins to present itself as a competition. Are you achieving as much as your neighbor? How big is your house compared to theirs? How about their job? Are you making as much money? Do you have as many networking connections as they do?
Soon enough your whole attitude is determined by how “well” you are doing compared to the people around you. Except now that we live in such a connected world you aren’t comparing yourself to just your neighbor but to the multi-millionaire online that you saw last week. We compare ourselves with everyone we can see through Instagram and Tik Tok. Comparing our looks, our relationships, our jobs, our very lives itself.
How do you know if your heart has been affected by this?
Ask yourself: when you hear someone get good news are you cheerful about it?
If I’m honest this is something that I have struggled with, and that I have to continue to rely on Jesus’ grace. Comparison, in this way, is a sin. The Bible has another name for it: coveting. We hear of someone else’s good news and struggle with the feelings of resentment and jealousy.
Paul shows us a glimpse of what it means to be spiritually mature. He hopes to be cheered about the good news about them. It is wholly unselfish, and we are never more like Christ when we are unselfish.
Do you show genuine concern for the church?
I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. - Philippians 2:20
Paul shows genuine concern for the Philippine church and he shows that Timothy has that same concern. The translation of “genuine concern” can also be translated as “truly anxious for.” Not in a sense of worry, but it is a concentrated form of care. It is to be intensely thoughtful of.
Did you know that you are apart of the family of God? Do you show this concern for the body of believers you’re apart of? Men and women throughout the ages have showed their genuine concern for the body of believers by their words and actions. Do not neglect the calling of Christ, to be apart of his body, to serve others with your gifts, talents and abilities.
I believe the local church is God’s plan A and there is no plan B. You are a necessary part of that plan A. You have been given gifts, talents and resources so that you can show genuine concern and comfort to the body of believers you are apart of. Do not neglect this! If you are seeking to increase your joy in life, you will find it in the genuine concern you show for your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Do you look out for the interests of others?
For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. - Philippians 2:21
A while ago I demonstrated to our church that the world teaches us that life is like a ladder. That we believe that happiness and fulfillment is found the higher on the ladder you get. Yet the higher you climb the ladder the more you isolated you become, the more unsteady you become, until soon enough you’ll find that you either will unbalance your life or someone will come along and kick the ladder out from under you.
Jesus does not call us to climb a ladder but to grab a towel. He asks us to get down and serve and metaphorically wash the feet of those around us. To serve others and look out for their interests. Jesus does this with his disciples to show how spiritually blind they are to this reality, and he does this with all of us, by humbling himself and serving us in the lowest way possible: by dying on a cross for our sins.
You are never more Christ-like than when you are serving, and you are never more unlike Christ than when you are expecting to be served.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:9
Those of Christ Jesus do not seek to serve themselves, but look out for the interests of others. My prayer and hope for you and I is that we would use all that we have been given by God to truly be servants who lead. That we would be servants of Jesus Christ, and in embodying that identity, change the world.
