“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20:28

Jesus’ teachings were against culture. The religious leaders of that time expected to be served by others and saw themselves as great in their own eyes. The above verse teaches something different; in order to be great, you must serve others and not yourself.

I truly believe that life is made to spent, not saved. We should want to expend ourselves in service to others. The world idolizes people of importance and power and influences us to seek this. However, Jesus teaches that greatness comes from lowering ourselves instead of lifting ourselves up.

I’m convinced that the action isn’t as important as the motive behind the action. If you serve to get attention or serve begrudgingly, then your service is in vain and means nothing. The service that God delights in this; to serve out of obedience and out of love for God and your fellow man.

In 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the go to passage for describing what love is. Prior to that passage, Paul explains how not having love leads to gaining nothing. If we give all our possessions and money away to the poor or get martyred for our faith, but have not love, we have gained nothing.

We as individuals cannot meet every need by ourselves. We want to be lights in our own individual way, but we must also be part of the body, the church, and work in communion with each other. Our job is to humble ourselves and take the low position while any exaltation or promotion that we may receive is up to God and Him alone.

In conclusion, greatness is achieved through service and humbling ourselves. Secondly, we must serve not just in our own way, but within the context of the church. Lastly, we must check our motives for doing what we do to ensure that our actions are done out of love and nothing else.

I pray this encourages you.

-Phil