The Sacrifice of a Servant

Although He existed in the form of God, [Jesus] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself.

–Philippians 2:6–7

The first ingredient of a serving heart is humility–understanding who you are and what God has given you. The second ingredient of servanthood that Paul explained in Philippians 2 is sacrifice.

Years ago, in a meeting I attended with other pastors, a well-known pastor and author said something I will never forget: “God grants us affluence and influence for one reason, and that is to build His kingdom, not ours.” Whatever God has given us, we don’t hold on to it; we give it up for the sake of others, just as Jesus did.

Philippians 2:6–8 says, “Although He existed in the form of God, [Jesus] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Jesus didn’t empty Himself of His deity; He emptied Himself of His rights as God. He let go of all the perks and privileges God had granted Him in order to take on human form and die an excruciating death on our behalf.

Most of us will never be called to make that kind of sacrifice. Nevertheless, there are sacrifices we are called to make for the benefit of others. We may be called to sacrifice our pride and admit we were wrong. We may be called to sacrifice money we’ve set aside for a special purpose to meet the need of an aging parent, a child, or a fellow believer. We may be called to sacrifice our time and our to-do list to meet the need of somebody God puts in our path.

Think about Jesus. He was on the most important mission of all time, yet He was interrupted constantly. He allowed those interruptions so He could take care of a woman who was bleeding uncontrollably (Luke 8:41–48), a friend’s mother-in-law (4:38–39), and a guy who literally dropped in during one of His messages (5:17–26). Jesus’s life illustrates that being a servant requires sacrifice–the willingness to give up something important to us to meet the needs of others.

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.