The Faith of a Servant

Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.

–Mark 10:43–44

The third ingredient of servanthood that Paul described in Philippians 2 is faith. Frankly, you and I will never consistently place the needs of other people above our own unless we believe there will be a reward for doing so. I know that seems a bit cynical. The idea of putting other people’s interests above your own for some future payoff appears unseemly, if not downright unspiritual.

Before you draw the conclusion that it’s wrong to serve others for future rewards, remember Jesus’s motivation for going to the cross. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Jesus . . . for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus didn’t go to the cross because He enjoys pain. No, Jesus went to the cross “for the joy set before Him.” Jesus was able to look past the horror of the cross and see the unending glory He would receive from God the Father.

As Paul wrote, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–11).

Understand this: God never asks us to separate sacrifice from reward. Yes, serving God may mean setting aside our need for reward temporarily. But it doesn’t mean setting it aside forever. Jesus never said, “Whoever wishes to be great among you is a self-serving jerk who doesn’t have a clue about what it means to be My disciple.” No, instead of condemning our desire for reward, Jesus told us the path to true greatness: “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all” (Mark 10:43–44).

To develop a serving heart, you need to understand who you are and what God has given you, you must be willing to give up what is important to you, and you have to believe that God “is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Developing a Serving Heart” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.