But
he that is greatest among
you shall be your servant (Matthew 23:11).
But Jesus
called them to
him, and saith unto
them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles
exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon
them. But so
shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your
minister: And
whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all (Mark 10:42-44).
Anybody who has been a disciple of Jesus Christ for any period of time is aware that Jesus orders His church differently than what we are used to seeing in our day to day lives. In the above passage He gives us a view of His expectations concerning service, and He even give us a juxtaposition to make sure it is clear. But just what does it mean to be a servant?
The apostle Paul writing to the Philippians (2:7) said that Jesus "took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." The question of servitude is often framed by asking whether or not we are a servant, however in this passage the Bible tells us that the form of man IS the form of a servant. So if our very frame, our very being, is the form of a servant, they only question left is not can I be a servant, for I was created in the form of a servant, but the question becomes "as a servant, who am I going to serve?"
As humans we were created to serve, so we are going to serve somebody. The question is, who? Will we serve ourselves and only do those things which please ourselves, or will we choose to deny ourselves and serve others? The Bible tells us in another place that "to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey." If we are servants to whoever we choose to obey, then who is it that we serve? Do we obey God? Do we obey our own whims and desires?
We are servants. We are living in obedience to something, to someone. The only question is to whom, to what.
