Any opportunity we have to serve others is a privilege. The word privilege in the Bible gives us the idea of “a restricted honor.” That means it is a special, restricted honor to serve God, and it’s not something to take lightly. When serving God’s people is no longer seen as a privilege, when you and I begin to think that we deserve to serve and we’ve earned the right to a certain title or position, we are in danger of becoming corrupt and defiled in our leadership. Always remember that, according to the scriptures, all we deserve is eternal separation from God. It’s only His great love for us that has saved us. Spiritual leadership and servanthood are like salvation—they are gifts from God that we receive.
1 John 4:19 (NKJV) “We love Him because He first loved us.”
The greatest things that will make you effective in serving Jesus are the position of your heart and the integrity of your life. As ordinary people who serve God, be very careful to stay away from the idea that you will pay your dues in serving God in certain ways and then get promoted to more important things.
We get this idea of promotion from the corporate world. When a person is hired in an entry-level position, their goal is not to remain there, but to get promoted to a higher-level position. Things work a little differently for servants of God in His church. Promotion is not our goal, and as we see in Psalm 75:6-7, it’s not even up to us: “Promotion comes not from the east or from the west but the Lord raises up one and puts down another.”
The Bible makes it clear: as servants of Jesus, you and I will never “pay our dues”. We will simply do what needs to be done, from cleaning toilets and picking up trash, rocking babies so that mom and dad can sit together in a service, or to leading worship and discipling others. The work is the same whether you’ve been a believer for 50 years or one day.
1 Corinthians 4:1–4 (NKJV) “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.”
Lean into what the Lord is stirring in your heart to serve Him this week. Ask for His wisdom to see things through His eyes. Do you need to be praying for someone? Is God putting on your heart to send a note of encouragement? Have you been wanting to help out with cleaning at the church or maybe obeying that step of faith to spend a week helping at VBS?? Whatever the Lord is preparing your heart for, remember it is a true privilege to serve Him.
Luke 12:42–48 (NKJV) “And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”
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Adapted from Ordinary Servant
