Where Do You Serve?
February 03|The School of Contentment Series
February 03|The School of Contentment Series
“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43-45
Read: Mark 10:42-45
Listen: Mark 10
In Mark 10, two of Jesus’ disciples approach him and ask to be placed in positions of high importance. Of course, this makes the other disciples angry because they want those positions as well. Rather than grant their request, Jesus tells them serving is the path to greatness. The disciples don’t see it, but humble service was in Jesus’ DNA. Service is close to his heart and is the way of those who follow him.
We shouldn’t be surprised that Paul repeats this focus on serving in 1 Timothy 6:18. Teaching that serving is a way to counter the challenge of affluence, Paul reminds his readers that service is the way of Jesus and his followers. This leads to our second question this week, “Where am I serving?”
Pastor Jeff Manion tells us there is something about wealth that can cause us to go, “It’s all about me, it’s all about me, it’s all about me.” But there is something about serving that trains the channels of our hearts to say, “It’s not about me, it’s not about me, it’s not about me.”
In this way, service can be a sort of anti-arrogance training to help us think more sanely about our money and our stuff. This is especially true when we’re not paid for our service or don’t receive praise. For instance, cleaning the church building after a service is good for the church—but also our hearts and faith. Consistent, faithful, humble service is heart protection against the darker edges of wealth. It helps train our hearts and develop a DNA like Jesus.
Think of one thing you can do today to serve someone. Make sure it is something where you won’t be paid and won’t receive any recognition or credit. This could mean shoveling a neighbor’s driveway or sending an anonymous card to someone who could use encouragement. Then consider where you could take steps toward consistent serving. Find some opportunities in our community and church at these links.
Join us this year as we read through the New Testament.
Today’s reading is Matthew 23.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.