A Job Description

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,  ”If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.  Mark 9:35.

Jesus called them together and said,  ”You know that the 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 your slave–just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:25-28.

This flies in the face of every male whoever thought the Bible claimed women were his servants and he their lord.  It should remind every single one of us that our pastors are not royalty (TLC for Women) but servants of the people they teach.  We get the cart before the horse, the engine up on blocks and think that Fred Flintstone really could get his car moving with just his feet.

A man who attains great stature in the church has become the head servant, serving all the other servants of Jesus.  Sure there is status, prestige and not a little honor speaking the words of God, but in light of Jesus’ words above, that honor is nothing compared to the knowledge of serving God.  “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say,  ’We are only unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”  Luke 17:10.  Kinda’ puts another perspective on a man’s role in the home, doesn’t it.

If we are not to lord our position or authority over anyone else, then what good is having the position?

Well, it’s for the purpose of making sure God’s kingdom works as its supposed to.  The leaders are the ones who are studied in the art of being a follower of the Way and teach the rest of us the truth about it.  They are authorities in what it means to be a servant not what it means to be merely a commander.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely.  We cannot be unquestionable, unfathomable or incomprehensible.  God wants our message and methods to be clear, concise and without facade.  As Paul told the Corinthians,  Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.  Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God.  On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God’s  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  2 Corinthians 4:1-3.

Fathers, we are called to be the protectors of our children.  Husbands, we are called to serve our wives through the wisdom and grace of God.  Our job as “head of the household” is not just an empty status symbol God cooked up to get us waited on hand and foot by our women, but a place of honor in service.  You want to fulfill God’s will for your life?  Love your wife as Christ loved the church.  This means love her till it costs you everything, till it hurts.  Jesus gave it all, all to Him we owe…

Position in the Christian church has been so misunderstood because we let the weeds tell us the value of things not the other way around.  If the Bible is really God’s word, then it is the first and last word on what is valuable and what isn’t.  It sets the value of an action, position and person.  You want power in the Lord?  Serve His people with humility and the glory of God will fill and surround you.  The enemy knows the image of God, the mind of God and the attitude of God, therefore he runs around roaring like a lion to scare us into thinking the only way to behave is to use power like the rest of the world.

Our weapons are not like the weapons of this world.  We fight with better tools, our sword is the Word of Truth, our shield is our faith in our Master and our feet are protected by the good news of the gospel of peace not of warfare or kingdom building after the world’s methods.  You want to be great in the kingdom of God?  After you tear down your equipment, clean up the pews or chairs, help the wheelchair bound to their buses, speak at length to those who you can see are too shy to speak up for themselves, but you know are just dying to do so.  A pastor who wants to be great in the eyes of people will preach cool sermons.  A pastor who wants to be great in the eyes of God will wash the disciples’ feet and still preach great sermons; only now his life is one great big testimony of his love for Jesus.

A dad who wants his son to know Jesus must demonstrate Jesus in everyday situations or the boy will be confused.  If we want to know what it is like to be like God, we must look to Jesus for our clarification,  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.  Philippians 2:6, 7.  I see so many scrambling for self-worth through public status and it saddens me to no end.  I know what it means to be admired for what I do, I’m a musician after all.  Yet I know the consideration is empty for the most part especially when it’s just admiration for how well I play the guitar or sing, which says absolutely nothing about my character and commitment to the Lord.  I’ve met great songwriters who wrote songs about God that would bring people to their knees, yet they were basically godless themselves.  Knowing how to turn a phrase doesn’t make one holy, righteous or of heavenly worth.

Only when we bear the fruit of righteousness expressing itself through love do we have the right to be admired at all.  Yet even then the transformation came about through the power of the One we submit our lives to, not us.  Whatever we consider to be our glory, we should lay at His feet.  We should prefer God’s glory over the glory of humans, for only in giving God the glory do we attain any real glory ourselves.

The Christian life is one of service not being served.  It is a life to be given not taken.

A husband who gets Jesus’ message will serve his family and show them by example what it means to be great in the kingdom of heaven.

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