There is much more concern for self fulfillment than for pleasing God and truly serving Him and others as seen in the life of Jesus. Typical of today is the enormous number of how to books not just for the secular world, but for the Christian community. These are aimed at directing us to more successful relationships, becoming more of a person, realizing ones potential, experiencing more thrills each day, whipping ourselves into shape, improving our diet, managing our money, and on it goes. Again, while many of these things are important and have their place, it does take the focus off what is truly the heart of Christianityknowing and loving God, and out of that resource and relationship, living as servants in the power of the Spirit according to the example of Christ. But what exactly is servanthoodServanthood is the state, condition, or quality of one who lives as a servant. Further, a servant is first of all one who is under submission to another. For Christians, this means submission to God first, and then submission to one another. Then, as one in submission, a servant is one who seeks to meet the real needs of others or of the person he is serving. To put it another way, servanthood is the condition or state of being a servant to others, of ministry to others rather than the service of self. It means willingly giving of oneself to minister for and to others and to do whatever it takes to accomplish what is best for another. However, when serving others and their needs, if the underlying motive and goal is some form of self love, like the praise of others for the service rendered, then ones service is in reality hypocritical. This type of service is really aimed at serving selfish endsusually in the futile pursuit of personal significance through something like praise, power, or status. Christs plan and that which produces maximum blessing to the world and the church is servanthood. A servant is one who, even when in positions of leadership seeks to lead and influence others through lives given in ministry for the blessing of others and their needs. As the following passages will demonstrate, the Lord Jesus came as a servant with a commitment to serve. Just think, if He had come to be served, our redemption could and would never have taken place. Likewise, our failure to live as servants throws up a huge barrier to effective ministry as representatives of the Lord Jesus. Components of Servanthood from New Testament Passages Since servant living was epitomized so completely by the Lord Jesus, we would naturally expect a number of passages to explicitly deal with this issue. Bb 8900 Software Free Download. While space will not allow an indepth exegesis, it is hoped that the following highlights drawn from several New Testament passages will draw our attention to a few vital principles that describe the spiritually mature quality of living as servants. Matthew 2. 0 2. 0 2. Mark 1. 0 3. 5 4. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling down she asked something from him. He said to her, What do you want She said, Permit these two sons of mine to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom. Jesus answered, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink They said to him, We are able. He told them, You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not mine to give. Rather, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father. When the other ten heard this, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high position use their authority over them. It must not be this way among you But whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first must be your slave 2. Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. A consideration of Matthew 2. Mark 1. 0 3. 5 4. Either we will seek to serve ourselves, a choice that nullifies our capacity to live as disciples, or we will learn to live as servants out of a faith relationship with God through Christ. In Matthew 6, the Lord stated it this way, No one is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. No one is able to serve God and possessions Matt. When we serve money, we are really serving ourselves and our own desires for what we think money will purchase like significance, power, pleasure, security, or status. Money is not evil and having it is not evil, but if it becomes our master, it controls our values, priorities, and pursuits rather than God, and that is evil see 1 Tim. Christ shows that His organization or organism, the body of Christ, is to function on the basis of service or servant like ministry to others. Spiritually mature people who experience His life are those who have first of all developed a servants heart like that of the Savior. Thus, a true concept of mature Christian leadership means serving ones followers and teaching them by example to be servants of others. A mother approached the Lord, probably at the request of her sons, and sought a position of status for them. Why Foolishly thinking that such status would give them happiness and significance, they wanted positions of authority, praise, and power. Our Lords answer showed that first of all they had been wrongly influenced by the attitudes of the world vs. Rather than thinking with the mind of Christ Phil. Cor. 2 1. 6b as His disciples should think, they were thinking like an unregenerate world. Thus, if they were to serve as His disciples, their thinking and orientation needed drastic transformation see Rom. Naturally, the model for mature spirituality and leadership and all Christian living is the Lord Jesus.