The Bible verse in the title of today’s column is found in Galatians 5:13. It is the theme verse for a new series of seven weekly columns dealing with how we serve others. Today we start with the prime example of such service: our Lord Jesus.
Jesus’ disciples sometimes argued among themselves which of them was the greatest (Luke 9:46-48). They clearly were not paying attention to Jesus. Jesus said to his disciples, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22:25-27) The world measures greatness by symbols of power and success. Politicians and celebrities boast of their successes. Perhaps they give to charity in order to build their reputation. Among their awards they accumulate people as status symbols. Around the world, most people aspire to rise to such greatness. Everybody wants to be a master; nobody wants to be a servant!
Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is not like this. God measures greatness not by power or wealth but by humility and service. Jesus commended the poor widow more than the wealthy benefactor (Mark 12:42-43). Jesus praised children as the model of the Kingdom greatness (Matthew 18:3). He said that the Kingdom of God is filled with humble people. The people ranked high in this world may be ranked low in heaven (Luke 13:30)—if they get there.
In an earlier column I suggested that Jesus would have summarized his personal mission statement by one word: “service”: “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) We should take notice that Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, came to earth in order to serve others. He gave us a standard to follow.
Jesus did not just talk humility, he practiced it. One night he was eating the Passover meal with his disciples. It was the custom in that day to wash the feet of all of the guests at a meal. (This was because most of the roads were dirt and a person’s feet would become dirty as he walked to the house where he would eat.) Because foot washing was a dirty job, usually a servant would do it. But at this Passover meal there was no servant to do the foot washing, so the task would usually fall to a woman or a child. The custom was for the person with the lowest rank to wash the feet of others, so none of Jesus’ disciples wanted to do this. But Jesus took the pan of water and towel and began to wash his disciples’ feet. I am sure they felt embarrassed that Jesus would humble himself in this way. But Jesus said humbling ourselves is the way of his Kingdom. He served them because that was his mission, and he served others as an example for us. We should all be servants to each other (John 13:12-15).
Serving others is important because it embodies three Christian virtues: humility, love, and kindness. In particular, Jesus cited humility as the motive for service. We usually expect that a commoner bows before a king or a ruler. We don’t expect a king to bow before a commoner, but that is what King Jesus did. His humility is the standard for all of his disciples, and it is especially the standard for Christian leaders to be servants. (More thoughts on church leadership in a future column.)
Pride is a false sense of my own importance. Humility means that I regard others as more important than myself (Philippians 2:3-4). Humility recognizes that everyone is equal in the eyes of God. In God’s eyes we are all servants.
For a humble person, there are always those around who need help. For a loving person, there are always those around who need compassion and encouragement. And for a kind person, there are always those around who need honor and respect. In other words, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “Serve one another in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:13-14) While Jesus’ command to serve others applies to everyone everywhere, there are five individuals or groups that the Bible emphasizes we should serve: God, the church, the poor, the sick, and the lost. In the coming weeks we will look at how we can serve those persons.
Greg Giles is a published author, who, along with his wife Jean, has embraced the call to serve and teach around the globe. Their life together has included missionary work in Liberia, Bangladesh, teaching in China, and raising a family in Bemidji, Minnesota. Between global travels and local commitments, including serving as superintendent of Corn Bible Academy and their current part-time roles at Corn Heritage Village, the Gileses have found “home” in many places; yet, they now happily reside in retirement in Cordell. Please visit his website at reflections-on-wisdom.com.