The Reluctant Servant

The world in which you live tells you to do your best and strive to be the top dog of your business. It is a dog-eat-dog society, where only the fittest survive. Thus, if you are going to survive, you must do whatever it takes to get you to the top. This is the way you live your life, until one day the Bible gets a hold of you. At that point you discover Jesus’ words for you to become a servant.

You like first place, and you like the amenities that come with that position. Face it, no faith in God is required when you are top dog. Faith comes into play when you are forced to depend moment-by-moment upon the Lord for His provision. That is a place you do not like to be. One fellow has some wise counsel in saying it this way: “I’m will to be a servant; I just don’t want to be treated like one.” Now that truth is really where you are. You want to serve Christ by being a servant. Just don’t be treated as such. The reason you feel this way is that being a servant of God and the world’s view are opposed to one another.

What you have to realize is that heaven is your home, not this earthly life. The Lord even warned you that life on earth would be full of “trials and temptations.” Life down here was never to be looked upon as your ultimate goal. So God gives you some of His wisdom in telling you how to live like a servant here in 1 Pet. 5:6, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” The key to moving up is to move down. Humble yourself and obey God, then He will exalt you to the position He wants you to have in His timing.

Don’t worry if others treat you like a servant. Just serve the Lord with your servant heart and leave the results in His hands. After all, God knows best. Start by humbly becoming before His presence and letting His will be done in your life.