Becoming a Servant

"Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant..." -Matthew 20:26

When I was younger, I worked at various restaurants as a server. At first, I was petrified. I used to have a HUGE fear of people. So huge, in fact, I was afraid to answer the telephone as a child!

Being a server, I had to come to terms with all of that. But, through it I learned to serve. I also learned to serve at the church I went to. Later when I got a job at Nordstrom, one of the visiting CEOs asked me where I had worked before. When I told him I was a server, he replied: "Hmm. Great training!"

If you want to have a bigger impact, find more people to serve. Solve people's problems, and you will have influence in their lives. Jesus was the best example of this: He went around solving people's problems, and people realized He was the Messiah that had been prophesied about in the Old Testament.

We shouldn't use influence to motivate people in the wrong ways, as in leading them to worship us or organizations. But everything we do can be used as a tool to draw them into relationship with Jesus and His kingdom.

We have the answer - the answer is Jesus. When we bring a solution into people's lives, this becomes an open door to share the gospel.

What type of problem does God want you to solve today?

Places of Influence

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ -Matthew 25:21

“Argh!  Church people suck!” said my fellow server one Sunday afternoon.

We all looked at him as he took the tract and the tip out of the check holder.

“Two dollars and a tract for a party of eight.  Do you really think I want to know more about your religion if you don’t even tip?”

I was saddened.  I said immediately, “Jake, (not his real name) I’m so sorry- not all Christians are like that.  In fact, a true Christian is quite the opposite.”

But it was no use.  There was no way I could battle the obvious as he walked away in frustration.  What made it worse was that my co-server was gay.  I’m sure their stares of disapproval only made things more disappointing.

There is no doubt that we have a brand problem in the Christian faith.  A brand is the perceived identity of something, whether it be a product or service, an organization or even a group of people.  It amazes me to think that this is where some of us are in the body of Christ today.  I’m sure the well-meaning folks at his table had the best of intentions – saving the soul is obviously more important than money – but from my friend’s perspective the $2 tip certainly didn’t help him think so.

We talk about being influential in culture so that Jesus’ life and light, his healing and his love for others can shine through us– but what about right here, right now?  Our worship director has said – “Do your best with what you’ve got in your hands now!”  Every encounter we have with others is “brand management.”  Are we who we say we are, especially when no one “important” is watching?  It’s not about being perfect or doing it for the sake of religion– it’s about the intention to really think about people and love them wherever we go, like Jesus did.  

In Matthew 23:11, it says, “The greatest among you will be your servant.”  How are you able to serve others today?  Only when we’re been faithful with our influence can God entrust us with more.