The Greatest Job Title
“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus in Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
What’s the best job title you’ve had?
In my younger years, I served as a camp counselor at a Christian family camp on Catalina Island. I got the opportunity to be on staff working with the middle school and High school students who would show up with the families. One of the duties we had as staff was being servers for the dining hall. When the families were all at the dining hall and eating their meals the common practice was for them to raise an empty tray or serving bowl, and we would run over and refill it from the kitchen.
We took a lot of pride in serving those families, even though it meant not sitting down and eating at the time. We found so much joy in the faces of the people when we served them.
Joy and spiritual strength go together. Scripture says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Joy is a key component to spiritual strength, in other words, Joy is crucial to our lives. Here’s a good definition of the kind of joy we experience,
“Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.” - John Piper
I’ve held a lot of job titles so far. Mens pastor, Youth Pastor, Outreach Pastor, but the more that I think about it, the more I am convinced that my greatest title—the title that brings the most joy—is “Servant”. Most people want to be served. Even in the church, I see the temptation to refer to ourselves as servant leaders, not leading servers. Everyone serves something or someone. Sometimes we serve ourselves and sometimes we serve our appetites.
The world would have us believe that Joy is produced by serving ourselves.
So when Paul writes,
“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus…” - Philippians 1:1
We should take note. Paul identifies himself in this letter as a fellow servant. He calls himself someone who has purposely taken on the mantle of serving. Paul says so much here with this small statement. He reveals that we all serve something. Yet a life of Joy is entirely dependent upon who or what you are a servant to. So what does it mean to be a servant of Christ Jesus? Simply put, it means freedom. As a servant of Jesus, you become“free from”, “free for” and “free to”.
It means you are free from worry.
How does Worry damage our lives? Worry will always limit your potential. After Jesus’ death, the disciples were together but they were afraid. They, “…were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish authorities” (John 20:19.) Doors are locked from the inside, and that’s what fear and worry will do to us. It is the self-imposed prison that locks in all the anxiety, discouragement, and depression all while paralyzing our potential. When we allow worry to reign free in our lives we are shackled to the fear that robs us of joy. This is why Paul writes,
“…Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” - Philippians 1:2
Faith in Christ, being made new by His power and His Holy Spirit, brings us freedom through the grace and peace we are offered by God. Being a servant of God means freedom from worry because we have the peace of God! When you are freed from worry, you are now free for courageous service!
It means you are free for service.
When you are a servant of Christ Jesus, a servant of the living God, it is not like being a servant to anything else. Service to our appetites leads to a lack of freedom, it leads to addiction at the cost of what’s valuable. Service to ourselves leads to a lack of community, it leads to selfish pride that squashes intimacy. Service to God frees us up to serve Him. His desire for us is to serve and glorify Him, which produces in us great joy. In a separate letter, Paul writes,
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” - Ephesians 2:10
There is nothing so beautifully freeing and powerful as using the unique gifts, talents, and abilities God has instilled into you for a purpose far greater than yourself.
It means you are free to rejoice.
As a servant of Christ, you can trust that He will be with you always. He holds all authority in this world and the next. This is why Scripture says,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” - Matthew 28:18 NIV
Now that Jesus has all authority, how could we not rejoice? Our past is forgiven, our future is secure, and our present is purposeful. We do not serve our interests which never satisfy, but we serve the interests of our God, who is our father, who loves us and did not withhold His son from us.
May you be blessed and rest in the freedom and joy that comes from knowing Jesus.
