Day 34 -Thinking Like a Servant
Service starts in your mind. Num. 14:24
To be a servant requires a mental shift, a change in your attitudes. God is always more interested in why we do something than in what we do. Attitudes count more than achievements.
King Amaziah lost God’s favor because “he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a true heart.” Real servants serve God with a mindset of five attitudes. Servants think more about others than about themselves. Servants focus on others, not themselves. This is true humility: not thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less.
They are self-forgetful. Paul said, “Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” This is what it means to “lose your life” forgetting yourself in service to others. When we stop focusing on our own needs, we become aware of the needs around us.
You can’t be a servant if you’re full of yourself. It’s only when we forget ourselves that we do the things that deserve to be remembered.
Unfortunately, a lot of our service is often self-serving. We serve to get others to like us, to be admired, or to achieve our own goals. That is manipulation, not ministry. The whole time we’re really thinking about ourselves and how noble and wonderful we are. Some people try to use service as a bargaining tool with God: “I’ll do this for you God, if you’ll do something for me.”
Real servants don’t try to use God for their purposes.
Servants think like stewards, not owners. Servants remember that God owns it all. In the Bible, a steward was a servant entrusted to manage an estate. Joseph was this kind of servant as a prisoner in Egypt. Potiphar entrusted Joseph with his home. Then the jailer entrusted Joseph with his jail. Eventually Pharaoh entrusted the entire nation to him. Servanthood and stewardship go together, since God expects us to be trustworthy in both. The Bible says, “The one thing required of such servants is that they be faithful to their master.” How are you handling the resources God has entrusted to you? Servants think about their work, not what others are doing. They don’t compare, criticize, or compete with other servants or ministries. They’re too busy doing the work God has given them.
Servants base their identity in Christ. Because they remember they are loved and accepted by grace, servants don’t have to prove their worth. They willingly accept jobs that insecure people would consider “beneath” them. One of the most profound examples of serving from a secure self-image is Jesus’ washing the feet of his disciples. Washing feet was the equivalent of being a shoeshine boy, a job devoid of status. But Jesus knew who he was, so the task didn’t threaten his self-image. The Bible says, Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God … so begot up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.” If you’re going to be a servant, you must settle your identity in Christ. Only secure people can serve.
Servants think of ministry as an opportunity, not an obligation. They enjoy helping people, meeting needs, and doing ministry. They “serve the LORD with gladness.” Why do they serve with gladness? Because they love the Lord, they’re grateful for his grace, they know serving is the highest use of life, and they know God has promised a reward. Jesus promised.
Point to Ponder: To be a servant I must think like a servant.
Verse to Remember: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Phil. 2:5 (NIV)
Question to Consider: Am I usually more concerned about being served or finding ways to serve others?
