Matthew 23:11-12(MSG) “Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.
The Amplified Bible says in Matthew 23:11-12 But the greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be raised to honor.
Jesus said, ‘The greatest among you will be your servant.’ Greatness for Jesus was about giving yourself to others. Jesus wants us to do the same. We all want to be recognised and feel valued. Well, Jesus says that if you want to stand out, then step down. If you want to be valued, service others. In the end, God sees everything, which is all that matters. The most important person is not the one that leads; it is the one that serves.
Servanthood is not about position or skill, it’s about attitude. Great leaders seek ways they can add value to others, and the primary way for a leader to do it is by serving them.
There are so many opportunities in our day to day lives to serve when we open our hearts and listen to the Holy Spirit! Serving gives us purpose and direction and encourages us to branch out and walk in our spiritual gifts. So, what can you do to serve others? Find a need and fill it. As a servant of God, He will lead you to help others. If you have cultivated a servant’s heart, then you will be readily available to go where He says go and to help who He says to help.
God gave each one of us unique gifts to serve each other, so let’s use it. 1 Peter 4:10-11(AMP) Just as each one of you has received a special gift [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God’s multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and abilities granted to Christians by God’s unmerited favor]. Whoever speaks [to the congregation], is to do so as one who speaks the oracles (utterances, the very words) of God. Whoever serves [the congregation] is to do so as one who serves by the strength which God [abundantly] supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified [honored and magnified] through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:16(AMP) Do not neglect to do good, to contribute [to the needy of the church as an expression of fellowship], for such sacrifices are always pleasing to God.
“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.” – Martin Luther King, Jr
I conclude with: “Some would define a servant like this: ‘A servant is one who finds out what his master wants him to do, and then he does it.’ The human concept of a servant is that a servant goes to the master and says, ‘Master, what do you want me to do?’ The master tells him, and the servant goes off BY HIMSELF and does it. That is not the biblical concept of a servant of God. Being a servant of God is different from being a servant of a human master. A servant of a human master works FOR his master. God, however, works THROUGH His servants.” – Henry T Blackaby