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 describes 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’s a payoff somewhere down the line for doing it. I know that seems a bit cynical. Some of you probably think, It’s wrong to serve other people for what you get out of it. We ought to just serve people just for the sake of serving people, to be like Jesus. The idea that you would put 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, look at what the Bible says about Jesus’ motivation for going to the cross. In Hebrews 12:2, the writer says that 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.”
You know, some people unintentionally romanticize the cross. They wear cross jewelry and think the cross is romantic. It’s not. It’s an instrument of execution, torture, and death. And Jesus, of all people, certainly didn’t romanticize the cross. And He didn’t go to the cross because He was some sadomasochist who enjoyed pain. No, the writer of Hebrews tells us why Jesus went to the cross. It was because of the joy that was set before Him. Jesus was able to look past the horror of the cross and see the unending glory that He would receive from God the Father.

Paul says, “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. God never says, “You need to forever give up your goals for any recognition and any payback.” He says, “You need to set them aside temporarily,” just like Jesus did.

One day there is a reward coming. 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.” Did Jesus say that? No, instead of condemning our desire for reward, Jesus tells us the path to take if we want true greatness. He said, “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).

If you’re going to serve others and put their needs above your own, you have to believe that God is a “rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Developing a Trusting Heart” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.