33They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 8:33-35)
Jesus was doing something powerful here: He was telling them to stop arguing with the question, “HOW CAN I BECOME GREAT?” But, replace that question with another one: “HOW CAN I SERVE?”
You don’t ever have to argue this question in your mind, “Am I the greatest?” But, this is the real question Jesus wants you to argue about, “Am I a servant?”
Jesus was never working towards His own greatness. He was never competing with anyone. These kind of conversations never went on in his head, “People are wondering if I’m John the Baptist raised from the dead. Dude, aren’t I a better preacher than John?” “How can I pastor a larger congregation than Moses?” “Who did more crazier miracles, Me or Elisha?” “Am I more anointed than Elijah?” Jesus never worked to become great in worldly standards, but His testimony was “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 10:45) He was not asking the question, “How can I be great?” But, “How can I serve?”
Did you know God wants you to be great?
When Satan tempted Jesus with giving Him the kingdoms of the world, that was something that Jesus was already going to get! Satan however, wanted Jesus to go for it NOW instead of in God’s perfect timing. Jesus trusted His Father enough, to know that His greatness was coming in the Father’s time. So, many of God’s kids however do not trust their Father. They think they have to grab their possessions through greed, cheating, and trickery, they think they have to defend and fight for their prestige or greatness through their striving and contending with others, they think they have to grab the opportunities of pleasure now through sexual immorality, overeating, etc. Satan tempted Jesus using: possessions (the kingdoms), prestige (the jump of glory), and pleasure (bread).
Satan tempts us in the same way using these things. However! Here’s the catch: The Father wants to give us all three things! He wants to give us financial blessings on earth and eternal rewards in heaven. He wants to give us prestige and honor us here on earth and in heaven. He wants to give us pleasure here on earth by blessing our marriage bed, and letting us experience His presence on earth and eternity! But like Jesus, we need to trust in our Father’s good heart and wise timing, and we don’t have to be desperate trying to get rich, trying to be popular and influential, trying to get goods, trying to get married!, trying to get food, trying to get prestige, trying to get great! Satan wanted Jesus to get desperate for those things! Jesus didn’t fall for that trap. Why? Jesus overcame through faith. He trusted that His Father would provide for Him these good things in His good time.
1) Possessions: The Kingdoms of the world will soon become the Kingdom of our Lord and Christ.
2) Prestige: Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.
3) Pleasure. Of course the sex part is something that Jesus didn’t engage in or will engage in- because sex is temporal and is only here on earth, but the Father provided much pleasure to Jesus through His Bride- me and you. We were the joy set before Him.
Back to talking about: Greatness. God wants to give you greatness in His timing! It might be while you are still on earth that He will honor you! It might be in heaven! It might be both! However, that’s not something you have to worry about. That’s not something you have to “go for”. What you need to “go for” now is, asking and answering this question, “How can I serve?”
A servant asks the Lord, “How can I serve you?”
Don’t ask the Lord to make you like Billy Graham, Benny Hinn, or Joyce Meyer, but just ask the Lord, “How can I serve you?” His calling for you life is different than Billy’s or Benny’s. Maybe He will use you in a very public way, maybe not. You don’t have to worry about that though. The real question you need to wrestle with is, “God, how can I serve you?” If you ask that question, the Lord will speak to you! You don’t have to strive and contend to be great. Don’t worry about making all the right career moves. But, live asking and getting answers to this question, “God, how can I serve you?”
A servant asks the church, “How can I serve?”
When you walk into a room or a church, don’t ask the question, “How can I get recognized and respected?” Ask, “How can I serve?”
Now, being a servant doesn’t mean you have to do everything everyone wants you to do. Some people will suck you dry and steal your destiny in God. You can’t do everything everyone wants you to do and still do everything God wants you do to. We serve God before man! However, a way we serve God is by serving people. There are so many power struggle and divisions in churches because people are asking, “How can I be great?” Instead of, “How can I serve?”
Humans have an innate desire to be great. It’s ok. But, either you will take it into your own hands and zealously fight for it, or you will trust God to take care of it! If you put it into your own hands, that’s called pride and God will oppose you. If you leave it in God’s hands, that’s humility, and God will grace you!
A servant is not afraid of being used!
I had this fear in times of being afraid to be used. I used to be a negative person, so I would expect the worse from people. So if I would help someone out, I’d be wondering, “Will this person screw me over?” This made me very skeptical and careful who I chose to connect with. I isolated myself from a good number of people as a result. I was living in fear! That is not the way Christ has called us to live. We are called to live in love! As people of love, we serve without fear of anything. Even if people do screw us over, so what, at least we got to serve them!
The Lord shared with me that some of His kids are more like merchants rather than servants. Merchants will give up things, only if they are promised something back. So, they will serve others, but they have there hidden motives, they want something in return: whether it’s popularity, acceptance, prestige, a position, some money, etc. Merchants won’t serve those who have nothing. Merchants will only serve those they think they can benefit a lot from. Merchants are always afraid of being screwed over. They are afraid that their client will receive service, but take off without paying. Many people see their friends with a merchant mentality, they are afraid that those friends they poured a lot into will just take off without giving much back. Many pastors have the merchant mentality, they are afraid that those church members that they invested the most into, will take off and leave for another pastor. Merchants aren’t great in the Kingdom, servants are.
Unlike merchants, servants aren’t afraid of being used! I never met a waiter who is buckling at the knees when a customer walks in and is stressing over this thought, “I hope they don’t use me!” “I’m so afraid of being used!” No, the waiter serves because that’s his or her job. Serving is our job too! Not everyone we serve will treat us the right way and tip us in right proportions, but we have a generous Boss, and He will take good care of us, and He sees your heart and your work, and a fat pay check is on the way!
A servant is not insecure!
The job of a servant is not for the insecure. Insecure people cannot serve another person. Insecure people can only be served! Insecure people can’t drop to a humble place and serve someone else, do a small task, follow instructions, submit to another’s lead, compliment another, and praise other leaders. The reason they can’t serve is that they feel less than someone else if they serve someone else. They are afraid of feeling less than someone else. Why? Insecurity. To be insecure means to be afraid.
It takes a real secure, confident people, who knows who He/She is in Christ, who understands their value and royalty in the Kingdom, who can serve. No one likes to be bossed around. But, the man who is really secure in His identity in the Lord, can be treated unjustly, harshly, and even be humiliated by someone they are serving, and still have a great attitude. A servant can be ordered around by people, but will not be afraid of people.
The insecure person is afraid that people will take away from their dignity. A secure person is confident that his/her dignity is secured in the Kingdom- where our citizenship and position now resides. Difficult people can take away from an insecure person, and keep him from ever serving again. No one can take anything away from a secure person, but he will keep serving the Lord and others until the day he dies.
A secure person is confident that the Lord will take care of his desires for greatness. An insecure person thinks that he has to fetch and fight for his own greatness. The secure person doesn’t work towards greatness, and doesn’t have to defend his greatness. The insecure person gives it his all to get great on earth, and then, gives everything he has to protect his greatness on earth.
God, please show me something today... 