Today’s catch phrase is:

Serve without reserve.

The essence of ministry is service, isn’t it? And we know that when we begin. Yet sometimes after the passage of time and circumstance, we grow weary of service or we forget what service is really all about.

Perhaps our view of servanthood is a bit clouded when we first begin ministry. We have this expectation that we will serve and others will respond with an appreciative spirit…well…because we served them!

And it doesn’t always work out that way, does it? In fact, sometimes it seems like it never does. God never promised that if we serve people, they will flock to us and love us and praise us. He didn’t promise that they would thank us, or that they would even notice our sacrifice.

Why then do we tout ourselves as servants, and then complain when we are treated like one?

Christ “took upon Him the form of a servant” and his servanthood led to a cross- to grief, to pain, to great burdens, to being rejected by even his own people. Yes, there is great joy and even rewards in store for servants, but the cross of servanthood must be borne.

Servanthood looks like plain old hard work. It looks like work in obscurity. It looks like work in obscurity that is often unappreciated. If the ministry context doesn’t fit, then try the context of motherhood, or whatever situation you find yourself in.

Servanthood is dying to self and focusing on the needs of others first. Does anyone else beside me have trouble in this area? Most of the time we start out serving joyfully, and then somewhere along the line the glory fades and the real work begins. Maybe in ministry we say it this way, “The honeymoon is over!” Why does this happen?

Well, the general settling down of life after a ‘new thing’ has begun, is normal. But when servanthood gets wearisome, it’s often because we have stopped looking at Christ and are now focusing on ourselves. We begin to think of how tired we are or how much we do that no one notices, or about the fact that we don’t have enough help.

I really believe that this is a trap that ministry leaders can fall into so easily. And it’s not just a bane to pastors/wives, but deacons/wives fall into this trap as well. Deacons are, by Scriptural definition, servants. They weren’t commanded to run the church or to tout what they do. They were ordained to quietly serve wherever a need arose within the church.

Let’s get back on track with true servanthood, shall we? Let’s recommit to

Serve without reserve.

Expect the sufferings and the realities of servanthood. And look forward to the JOY and REWARDS that await us in heaven someday, given by none other than the greatest Servant this world has ever known!

“But made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:7

Let’s Chat: Do you struggle in the area of servanthood? How do you get yourself back on track when you lose the correct focus of true servanthood in ministry {or life in general}? Please share your wisdom!