A Servants Attitude

A Servants Attitude.
“Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  
and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  
     Mark 10:42-45.
Do you have a servants attitude?
A few years ago now I had a pastor that attended a pastoral convention. Going there his airline lost his luggage and he was forced to attend the first meeting wearing a jacket white shirt and blue jeans. He just happened to be one of the speakers so he found himself on the stage.
He was neat and tidy but he looked around him and seen everyone in a suit and tie all the same. As he looked at those pastors on the stage and off, he realized there was a disconnect between the pastors and the general public.
At the same time he realized that some people didn’t come to church because they thought they had to dress a particular way, ie in suit and tie.
He then noted that most of the churches he visited had special parking places for their pastors near the church entrance.  There were also other odds and ends pastors seemed to get treated too that the average person in the congregation didn’t get.
None of these things were wrong in themselves. In fact it even showed respect to the pastor.
Still he came back to his congregation and eliminated his parking spot. He told his pastoral staff to dress casual rather than in a suit all the time. He encouraged people to come to church as they were.
He became more available to people.
He started two services one a traditional one with hymns. The other with more contemporary music.
It lead to a change within the congregation as a whole. People were no longer worried about coming to church in their “Sunday best”. People from various walks of life noticed and started coming.
Word got out that people were accepted as they are. The result of those changes and his very dynamic speaking cause the church to grow.
God’s hand was on that church. The pastoral staff regard themselves as servants and it permeated the whole church.
It essentially stemmed back to what Jesus said,
“Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  
and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  
            Mark 10:42-45.  
When people see people with a servants attitude they tend to respect them.
A servants attitude however is not always easy for many people.
I am now a retired professional clown and magician. I attended occasions from children’s birthday parties to major events. In the houses of poor people, to people with great wealth.
When people hired me I became their servant for however long I was there. I was hired as the entertainment and that was all. For me that was fine.
There were times when I was offered a drink or something to eat but I never expected it. All I expected was my pay.
I took on a partner that unfortunately couldn’t see that we were servants. She quite often would leave the event and grumble that we were not offered anything. As a result our partnership was short lived.
As Christians no matter how long we have known the Lord we need to realize that we are servants, especially any of us who are in leadership positions.
Once we take that servants attitude to heart our ministry for the Lord improves drastically.
Francis of Assisi wrote,

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” 

                                                                                    Francis of Assisi.
While Francis of Assisi’s work is not from scripture it reflects Christian principles we all should be practising.
Please think about it. 

To be Christian

To be Christian
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” 
                                                                                                                                     Psalm 1:1,2.
I write today directly at Christians particularly those in North America and the west in general. I write with the hope they will look at their life and actions. That they will assess what they are doing and if necessary make a change.
Billy Graham once said,
“Make sure of your commitment to Jesus Christ, and seek to follow Him every day. Don't be swayed by the false values and goals of this world, but put Christ and His will first in everything you do.”
 Billy Graham
Jesus set the standard high for Christians. When asked,
 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment.  
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                                       Matthew 22:36-40.
Jesus did not stop there however He said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,...”  
                                                                                                 Matthew 5:43,44.
He said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” 
              Matthew 7:12.
Question: Would you die for an ungodly person, for a sinner? Jesus did. The apostle Paul writes,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 
Romans 5:8.
This is how far we could be called to go. Think about it.
There are Christians around the world being persecuted and put to death for their faith. One figure I read was a Christian dies every seven minutes somewhere in the world for their faith.  They are dying because they are presenting the word of God to the people around them. Christians are going to prison for witnessing for Christ.
Christians in many parts of the world do not have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Yet many that would call themselves Christians especially here in North America would squander that right and bring God’s name into disrepute.
I think of something I heard about in the United States where a person who had a business did not want to serve as they put it “homosexuals” as it was against their belief. I ask the question would they discriminate against, adulterers, or convicted thieves?
Jesus didn’t. Jesus died beside a thief. Jesus sat and ate with tax collectors and spoke with a Samaritan woman all considered sinners of his day and spoken against by the religious leaders of his day.
As Christians we must as the Psalmist say’s
“...delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” 
                                                                                                                                Psalm 1:2.
But while we must delight in the law of the Lord we cannot use it to discriminate against anyone we interact with in this world.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” 
                                                                Romans 3:23,24.
That “all have sinned” meant “ALL” you, me, and everyone who has ever lived. As a Christian we know we are save by the grace of God. However how can we reach the world if we discriminate who we associate with. Who works in our businesses, or buys from us.
Remember,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 
Romans 5:8.
Billy Graham said,
“Racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, or hatred of anyone with different beliefs has no place in the human mind or heart.”
                     Billy Graham.
Jesus speaking of himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16,17.
Jesus showed that love of God by associating with everyone whether they were considered a sinner or not. Jesus did not pick and choose who he associated with because of his religious beliefs. Him sitting with the Samaritan woman and the tax collectors proved that. Jesus showed unconditional love to all.
As Christians we need to practice true Christian Love. Paul defined this when writing to the Corinthians. He wrote,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 
Love never fails....
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”  
                                                                                                           1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.
Are people seeing this kind of Love in you?
Please think about it.