“Who being in the very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; (7)
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness. (8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
Our society doesn’t
really have the position of servant anymore.
We have employees who serve, but not servants. Unlike an employee, a servant had no
rights. I guess that isn’t exactly
true…a servant had the right to do whatever his master told him to do at any
moment of the day. More often than not,
a servant was overworked, overlooked, unappreciated, and uncompensated. More of a slave than an employee…a show of
hands to sign up for that?
Well, like it or
not, you have signed up for that. Don’t
believe me? Check this out:
“Don't you know that when you offer
yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey--whether
you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to
righteousness?” – Romans
6:16
You are a slave to
what you obey. And there are only two
choices: God or something other than God. If you don’t actively choose Christ,
you will become a servant of sin and self.
In our fallen nature, sin and selfishness are our default settings, not
righteousness. We need Christ to make us
righteous…
One last thought:
The life and lifestyle of a servant was totally dependent upon the character of
the master. If a servant had a kind,
God-fearing master, she would be well taken care of – often better than she
could take care of herself. If a servant
had a mean and heartless master – his life was probably miserable and perilous.
So why would Jesus
choose to become a servant? Because He
knew His Master. And while Jesus’ task
was a hard one (the definition of understatement), He trusted the love and
character of the Heavenly Father. Being
the servant of a loving, trustworthy Father is a joy, not a hardship.
Do you trust God
enough to spend your life in obedient service to Him? Or do you prefer to be a slave to
yourself…which is nothing more than sin disguised as freedom. I understand myself well enough to know that
I am not worthy to be my own master. How
you figured that out yet?
“The bottom line in the Christian life is
obedience, and most people don't even like the word.” - Charles Stanley
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