iheart

Jesus Christ is our greatest example of a servant. Being a servant is putting yourself into a position lower then others, humbling yourself so that life is no longer about you; looking at things from a selfless perspective instead of a me-filled perspective. All throughout the New Testament, the writers would greet their letters by saying "James, a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ" or "Paul a bond servant of our Lord."
Those men were bound and called to be servants. Servants to whom you may ask? Servants to the Lord. And with the responsibility to be servants of God, we also have to be servants of others. It is an awfully humbling thing to do- being a servant. I, for one, struggle with being self-less. Sometimes I tend to think of myself as "holier than thou" and look down on people who are lost, or even my own brothers and sisters in Christ. I definitely have not mastered being a humble servant. Zephaniah 2:3 tells us to "seek righteousness and humility." Philippians 2:3 says: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Lowering ourselves below others is hard. But it is so fulfilling to serve others with an attitude of humility and selflessness. It is such a witness to people when you live your life thinking about others! The world tells us that everything is all about us. Magazines, computer, music, clothing, and sadly sometimes even churches try to cater to your specific needs and make everything about you so that you will buy their products, or listen to their message. But do you know what God says about that? He says to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles." (Hebrews 12:1) Those things lead us astray so easily and allow us to take our focus off of what our life should be about. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Nothing. Live your life with all of your strength focused on God and what His Word says, then being a servant will come easily to you.

Psalm 119:36 (New International Version)
Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.

If you are struggling with this, ask God to help you! Ask Him to help you cultivate a selfless, gentle spirit.

James 3:13-17 (New Living Translation)
¹³ If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. ¹⁵ For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. ¹⁶ For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

Your Sister in Christ,
Jessica