Good morning,
What does it take to be a servant/leader? The last time I saw a real servant was in Ethiopia. The last I saw of him, he was running away from our back yard after cutting down a huge eucalyptus tree that fell on a teacher’s house. Not once during the negotiations to pay for the damages did I see the careless woodcutter. Why not? The man’s owner had to accept the responsibility for the damage, not the servant. A genuine servant’s identity is determined by who he belongs to, not how hard he works or by how well he does his work. When Jesus was telling his parable about the hard working servant he was sharing a perspective that everyone around him had lived with all of their lives. Servants as part of the household were there to do the work that needed to be done and to do what they were told even if they were very tired and didn’t particularly feel like doing what was expected. Servants were not people with authority, they were people with responsibility.
When the apostles talked of themselves as servants of Jesus Christ they were using the term based on what they all knew servants were there for. Servants were there to serve their master. A good servant would serve their master willingly and a really valuable servant would serve his master with a willing, joyful heart. A really loving servant would get to know his master’s patterns and wishes so well, that they could anticipate what was needed and carry out his wishes with a sense of fulfillment and thanksgiving as part of their shared relationship. When the master was a loving, fair and patient person and the servant was with the master, heart and soul, the servant wasn’t focused on who he was. His focus was doing his duty to the best of his ability. A genuine servant/leader is someone whose heart is wrapped up in pleasing his master so much that he becomes a model for others to do the same. Servant/leaders are not people who are aware of how good they are and how much authority they can exercise. They get their value from the master’s approval and not from their friends or enemies. May the Lord help us to have our ministry and personal values based on His approval and no other.
Luke 17:7 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? 8 No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ 9 And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. 10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”
Roy Wisner
