"..whoever wishes to become great among you
must be your servant."
Mark 10:35-45; Philippians 2:1-11 vs. 43

"Happiness is our highest moral purpose."

"Selfishness is our greatest virtue."

"Putting our efforts anywhere short of meeting our own needs is foolish and self destructive."

I fear modern society is becoming a drift from what Jesus said,

What I fear even more is that modern day thinking is filtering into Christian thinking. This of course is not something new. It has existed since Adam and Eve. When the devil tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit he was basically saying, "why serve God when you can be like God." And they bit.

James and John are no different. They did not want to be just another disciple. They wanted to sit on the right and the other on the left in Jesus’ glory. They were seeking greatness. They were seeking places of honor. They were thinking that Jesus was going to establish an earthly kingdom which would free Israel and when that happened they wanted to be assured of having a position of prominence.

They were willing to do whatever it would take. For even when Jesus said to them,

"Are you able to drink the cup that I drink..?"

They answered,

"We are able."

I am sure they meant it when they said. I am just as certain that they never expected that the cup Jesus spoke about, was a cup of servanthood. I wonder what went through their mind when Jesus said,

"Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all."

To better understand what Jesus is talking about with regards to being great requires being a servant or slave, you can look at the Olympic athletes. The quest to compete for a medal required that they become slaves to the sport they participate in. True greatness in the sport comes from being a servant of it.

This is what Jesus is saying with regards to life. True greatness in life comes by being a servant. In Christ’s kingdom service is the way to get ahead. James and John were seeking greatness by seeking to have their needs met. Jesus said greatness is looking for ways you can minister to the needs of others.

Many people, even Christians live only to please themselves. Selfishness brings discord. Selfish ambition can ruin a church, a family, a team, and community.

Often people excuse selfishness, pride, evil by claiming their rights.

I can if I want to. I deserve it. I have a right to it. In other words they are saying, "What about me?"

Servanthood is soured by self.

The following story is a perfect example. David Henderson told the following story. On a recent night I was cleaning the kitchen for my wife and wishing I was doing anything but. Sharon had made a meal for us, plus another for the family of a hospitalized friend, and the kitchen showed plenty of evidence of her hard work. I remember scrubbing the counter and scowling at the task. What about me? Coming off two shorts nights of sleep. I was tired and grumpy and wanted nothing more than to go to bed. Why didn’t she clean it up and send me to bed? Or at the very least, why didn’t she make a big deal of all that I was doing for her?

Suddenly it hit me. I was not serving Sharon at all. She was exhausted and spent, but I wasn’t thinking about her. I was carrying out a task, but my attitude was decidedly not that of a servant. I was too busy thinking about myself to care about what would be of benefit to her.

As Christians we are called to have a different attitude, one of humility that enables us to lay aside our rights in order to serve others. If you claim to be a follower of Jesus, then you must also try to live as He showed. We should serve others, not for the recognition but for the love of God.

Home, has to be one of the most difficult place to find servanthood. The clash between parents and teens over chores, transcends time. I found that one of the most difficult tasks I had as a parent was to train up my sons to assist in household chores, not because they were told to, not because they were getting an allowance, but because the loved me and their mother. To help them realize that what Diane and I did for them was not because we were their parents, but because we loved them.

This is the same motivation behind Jesus’ statement,

"..whoever wants to become great must become a servant...For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Jesus came to earth not grabbing but letting go. He emptied Himself of His kingly majesty and divine power. First to last Jesus’ public ministry is a picture of a servants determination to serve the wishes of another.

Beginning with his forty days in the wilderness after his baptism, when satan was tempting Jesus to satisfy His hunger by turning stones into bread. Jesus said," My

"food is to do the will of my father who sent me."

When he kneeled in the Garden of Gethsemane just prior to his arrest. Jesus prayed three times saying,

"Not as I will, but as You will."

Jesus’ life is bookended by servanthood.  Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a slave. WHY?, to serve us, to save us, to reveal everything about God’s character that can be conveyed in human terms.  He willingly gave up his rights in order to obey God and serve people.

Like Christ’s, our attitude must be to serve out of love for God and for others, not out of guilt or fear.  As followers of Christ we should have a different attitude, one of humility that enables us to lay aside our rights in order to serve others.

I will end with these stories of servanthood.

A church member tells this story. I broke a belt on my lawn mower, and the part I needed was on backorder.  On Saturday, I mentioned my dilemma to one of the guys in my discipleship group and asked him if I could borrow his mower.

He said, "Sure," and I told him I would get it on Tuesday.

On Monday morning, I was enjoying the Memorial Day holiday when to my surprise I heard the sound of a lawn mower.  I looked out the window and couldn’t believe my eyes.  My yard was covered with men and mowers.  It was one of the most beautiful sights I have seen.  The guys from my discipleship group were mowing my yard.  They mowed my entire lawn in 20 minutes.

Another shares this story. Several years ago I had major surgery.  The next day I was still in severe pain, heavily medicated, and barely able to move.  I attempted to wash up, but the combination of pain and medicine brought on lightheadedness and nausea with the slightest movement.

A Christian co worker, came to visit that evening. With one look at my disheveled appearance, she knew that I hadn’t had a good day. She gave me a complete bed bath and a lotion message, leaving me refreshed and relaxed. I felt as though I had been touched by God.

What is your story of servanthood?

God calls us to serve Him in any number of arenas: community, workplace, church, mission field, privacy of our home.

God calls, what is your answer?

Amen