HUH? DID I READ THAT RIGHT?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even
the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give
His life a ransom for many”
(Mark 10:43-45)

MEDITATION:
Consider these comments:
    “In order to lose weight, eat as much as you can hold”.
    “In order to get stronger, sit around and do nothing”.
    “If you want to be first, go to the end of the line”.
    “If you want to cook, don’t turn on the stove”.
    “If you want to have lots of friends, be rude and mean to others”.
    “If you are planning a trip, siphon the gas out of the car”.
None of these make any sense, do they?

Sometimes the scriptures give us instructions that can be difficult
to understand, and even more difficult to obey. When that happens,
what should we do? We should believe God’s Word and act on faith,
shouldn’t we? When we do, we can be assured that we will be blessed.

We are told that if we want to be great, then we must become
a servant. We hear some people talk about being a servant, but
their actions indicate a desire to be recognized and admired by
others. They have an inner desire to impress others with what
they have, who they know, what they have accomplished, and
the abilities they have.

As ‘servants’, our desire should be recognition and approval of
our Lord and Savior. Everything we do should be with a desire
to please Him and to point others to Jesus; and not to garner
attention for ourselves. When we are humble (and show humility),
and when we are obedient (and show obedience), then we become
useable by God.

God has a plan to make us great in His kingdom, but only if
are willing to be a servant (aka ‘the least’) while living here
on earth. Do you know what that means? It means that others
might notice our humility and obedience, but they may never
see our greatness, and how we are rewarded by God.

If we expect God to be able to use us in His kingdom, we must
understand what it means to be a servant. As servants, we will
focus on receiving praises from our Lord and Savior, and not
on the recognition and applause from others.

We will remember that everything we are able to do has been
given to us by God and He should get all the credit. That type
of thinking is what helps us to always remain humble in all
circumstances.

Think about this:
    Let’s assume we are highly skilled in some craft. How did we get
    there? We went through some rigorous training and education,
    so we developed this skill on our own, right? Not so fast! Where
    did we get the physical and mental ability to learn these skills?
    We got them from God, our Creator! That’s why He gets the
    credit and it’s why we should never develop an arrogant pride.

It takes a strong person to become humble, doesn’t it? Imagine
for a moment that God has called you to be a pastor and has
equipped you with everything you need to succeed in what He
has called you to do. Think about the number of hours that
you would spend alone preparing sermons. It you allowed the
thought that members of the church may not appreciate your
efforts, it would cause you to become discouraged, right?

However, during those isolated times of preparation, when
you remember that God has called you to be a pastor, you
would know that He sees your efforts, and appreciates the
time you are spending alone. Wouldn’t that contribute to
your motivation to tenaciously and consistently answer His
call and to use the spiritual gifts He has given you?

You would value and have an appreciation for everything He
has given you. This type of thinking would contribute to an
attitude of humility and thankfulness for His presence, and
how He is actively helping you with your preparations. See
how God can help us to focus on Him instead of the praises
of others?

Think of being a servant like being an oarsman on an ancient
and large ocean-going ship. The oarsman is in the belly of the
ship out of sight from the captain, the first mate, and the crew
that oversees the daily activities of the ship.

The other workers on the ship (navigator, helmsman, etc.) are
visible, but the oarsman is not. He is the least of the least, but
what a great contribution he makes to the movement of the ship!
Without his unnoticed (and possibly unappreciated) efforts, the
ship would stay in one spot.

Isn’t that the image we are given when the scriptures tell us
to ‘be slave of all’. It doesn’t mean we are to become useless,
it means we are to be content with how God wants us to be a
contributor in what He is doing.

One of the greatest detriments to obeying God is our pride
and ego. We want others to admire us and shower us with
praises, because it feels good and it feeds the hunger of our
ego and pride.

But, for us to become an obedient servant of God, we need to
put our selfish attitudes on a shelf, and redirect the praises
from others to the Lord who has given us everything. If others
recognize and compliment us for serving God by using what He
has given us, then we can enjoy it because He is getting the praise.

When we develop a humble attitude, not only will God get the
glory for all the good things in our lives, but it will also help
to prevent us from becoming ‘proud of our humility’. Some
people can be guilty of bragging about their humility to others
(and that’s contradictory to being humble, isn’t it?).

ACTION:
Are you a servant of God’s, or do you have a desire to be praised
by others? Is your ego and pride getting in the way of your being
focused on pleasing God (as a servant)? Are you willing to become
humble so God to make you great in His eyes?

How do you handle the praises from others? Do you give credit to
the Lord for everything you have, all that you have accomplished,
all you own, and all your abilities? Can you, or have you, become
an ‘oarsman’ for the Lord?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, remind me that everything I can do and
everything I have is a blessing from You. I could do nothing
without the abilities You have given me. Help me to always
give You the praise and glory when I receive recognition from
others. Forgive me for any selfishness that prevents me from
accepting my position as a humble servant. Develop a humble
and obedient spirit within me so I can accept being the least of
the least among men. Teach me that when I am a true servant,
I will be blessed by You now, and even more when I enter into
Your kingdom.”

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