Our world is set on climbing the ladder of success, doing whatever it takes to prosper. This is nothing we haven’t heard before; we are all aware of the self-absorbed society we live in. If you’re not first, you’re last. It’s a mindset that is instilled in us from day one and only grows as we age. We all want to be kings and queens, never servants. It’s very rare to find someone with a “serve others first” mindset and it is very likely that such a person would stand out; go against the grain; look a little different. However, this is the kind of person that our Savior is and we are taught to live like Him.
Matthew 20:28, “[Jesus] did not come into the world to be served, but to serve, and to give His life for many.”
In our society, this concept is revolutionary. Not to be served, but to serve? It’s a concept that many people could never wrap their minds around, even if they tried. Why? Because serving means sacrifice. It requires you to give up the part of you that wants to be served. To be cared for. To have every need fulfilled. And for many people, that’s just too much to ask. In our world, we have tunnel vision on our own wants and needs and our vision doesn’t extend much farther than that.
“It’s my life. My body. My choice. My risk to take. My opinion.”
But imagine saying such things to Jesus. How would He respond? Now I really thought about that question. Our instinct is to only look out for ourselves; I mean, that’s what everyone else does. So why should we be different?
“Not so with you.” That’s how I imagine Christ responding. Sure, selfishness is the way of the world, but we are not of the world.
Not so with you. You are set apart. You are bought with a price. You are a child of God.
We are called to a higher standard – called to serve, just as Christ served us. We are called to sacrifice our own agendas to look out for others. And not just for those “in need.” We tend to think serving just means giving to charity and feeding the poor, but serving is more than that. In its simplest form, serving is simply living a life of humility. It’s living for something greater than yourself. It’s knowing that there must be more – that having all of your needs fulfilled will still leave you empty if you don’t serve a master greater than that of yourself.
I'll leave you with a pretty neat illustration I read which compares serving to using a ladder:
If you’ve ever seen someone use a ladder, you know that there is usually one person climbing up – and another person holding it steady from the bottom. In our society, we are rallied to climb the ladders of life. From school to internships to the workplace, we live and operate on the rungs of success. But Jesus flips the script and calls us to descend from our high places and, instead, hold the ladder for others. While the world is climbing and gaining success, Jesus tells us, “Not so with you.” – Simple Pursuit, Louie Giglio
