by Howard Whittlesey
Synopsis: Selfish attitudes stand in stark contrast with that of the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28).
The beauty and power of service is frankly immeasurable in the heart of the sincere man. However, in America, the overall attitude toward service is tragically deteriorating in virtually every sector of society. Anyone who can see through a ladder has witnessed the evidence of this exponentially. Let us consider how beautiful and powerful genuine service can be, as well as to classic examples thereof in God's word. We shall also recognize the need for the child of God to implement service as his badge of commitment to the perfection of God.
What would you say about the person who failed to listen as he should?—"Ear-responsible"! How many sets of ears should the apostle Peter cut off in the "garden of America" for their "ear-responsibility"? If the boss says to do a chore in the interest of expediency and economy, who should dare answer, "That's not my job"? What should be the consequence? In many cases, what if the employee sees something that is awry, he could rectify it simply and courteously, yet he rather thinks, "That's not my job"?
Perhaps a clause in the contract given to the employee should pertain to such responsibility so that the boss has leverage to do justice. The point is: God forbid a Christian offering such an answer to his employer—or even his fellow-employees. The man of God will render his service unto the maintenance of a positive, productive spirit for all concerned.
Sin has been a "log" over which mankind has stumbled ever since the "Garden" was home. In countless cases, the placement of that "log" has led to man's downfall. It seems he'd rather stumble over it than to move it. ("It's not his job.") Jesus certainly never placed a "log" in the path of any man. There is one log that only Jesus could remove; He did so with His sacrifice on the cross. Twice in Isaiah 53:7, the prophet said, "He opened not His mouth." Let's not even begin to talk about the likely reaction of an American—Christian or no—when it comes to being abused as Jesus was.
What beauty and power do you see in Isaiah's observation? Have you thought about what comprises meekness? Isaiah gave just such an example here. Was it Jesus' job to keep His mouth closed? Do men have as much dedication to the Father in heaven? What did Jesus say would happen to the meek? "They shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5).
In Matthew 20:25-28, "Jesus called the apostles unto Him…." In verse 25, He told them that government enjoys dominion and authority over its constituency. Then, Jesus said that that's not the way it will be among the apostles. In verse 26, He added that, for one to be considered great among men, "let him be your minister." Would Jesus have such to be the choice of man? (meekness?—Hm-m-m!) Woe! Have a look at this!—In verse 27, Jesus used an even stronger word than that for "minister" (diakonos). In verse 26, Jesus chose the words "great" and "minister"; in verse 27, He escalated His expectation to "chief" and "servant." This He did, because the apostles were more like Americans than they would want to admit. They just didn't get it. They wanted Jesus' preference to be unto them without doing what such should require. Where are you in that contemplation?
The beauty and power of this passage shows Jesus using the word "let" in both verses (26 and 27). Seems that, for a man to achieve the desired heights, he must choose to spend the effort and energy that will be required. Must man do as Jesus: make it his job?
Verse 28 shows us the epitomic level on which Jesus served. If the Son of man had all authority, shouldn't it be He unto Whom ministry was issued? Yet, He came to minister! Hm-m-m! Was it His job to atone for our sins? He fostered a positive, productive spirit for all men by giving His life a ransom. WHY? "…for I am meek and lowly in heart…" (Matt. 11:29b).
Paul instructed the Corinthian Christians not to let their calling unto servitude bother them. He said just to use it to be free to do your service. He added, "He that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant" (1 Cor. 7:21-22). The freedom allows one to work with a higher standard than that of his boss. No regrets—Right?
Christians have Jesus as their "boss." He has given the freedom to each child of God to plumb the height he so desires, serving Christ to the highest level that he wishes to attain. Obviously, one will have to settle for what his capacity allows (Matt. 25:15—"his several ability"). Each of us has his own ability, and God offers even that as a thing of beauty and power—to let every man make the difference he can in the grand scheme of service.
Over half a century ago, the song "Little Things Mean a Lot" was on America's "Top 40" list. There's power in the blood—wonder-working power. Right? There's power in each of us. God's flickers have their place in His design, just as much as His sun lights half the earth at one time. The beauty and power of both have God as their Artist. It's His picture. We need just to be a part of it as He sees fit.
As long as our service is without restriction, we need to be an element of loving-kindness that renders the chore when needed according to timing, balance, and service unto what is best for all concerned. God's wish is for all to be saved. It is our job to let God use us as His tools and instruments to do what we can, when we can, and where we can. Let us do the work; let God perfect it.
Author Bio: Howard lives in Denver, IN. He served as a choir director in grades 7-12 for thirty-nine years. He and his wife, Colleen, have four children. He can be reached at howcolwhit@aol.com.
