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A Servant's Heart
Our Lord taught that if we would be truly great in His kingdom, we MUST develop a servant's heart. "But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant" (Mt. 23:11). If we understand this truth, then we will be working more and more to acquire the attitudes and characteristics of a servant. What are some of these?
If I possess a servant's heart, then I will be ready and willing to do any job that needs to be done even when it is not the job that I really wanted to do. Some tasks are difficult and receive little recognition, but I'll do these anyway. After all, I shouldn't be doing my works to be "seen of men" (Matt. 6:1ff).
With a servant's heart, I will worry less (ultimately none at all) about how others serve me, and I will be more interested in finding ways to serve others. "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant" (Matt. 20:26, 27).
As a faithful servant, I will not be rebellious against God, the things taught in His word, or to those who are in authority over me (elders, parents, employers, etc.). To do so would be completely contradictory to the whole notion of servanthood (I Peter 5:5-7).
As I grow in these attributes of a servant, I will begin to see my needs and myself as less important in the "bigger scheme" of things. "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3).
And finally, as a servant who is seeking to please God, I will grow in the realization that my work is never done - that I have never done as much as I could have or should have done. "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, 'we are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do'" (Luke 17:10).
