Being a Servant

From Charles Swindoll "Improving your Serve".

Three catergories of characterisctics related to the servant image -

a) transparent humanity
"And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling" 1 Cor 2:1-3
Paul wasn't perfect and he didnt try to hide it. He was transparent with the people in Corinth about his weaknesses, about his true condition. Paul admitted his humanity.

b) genuine humility
"And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." (1 Cor 2:4-5)
Now, we must remember that Paul was a dynamic preacher, but he declared that it is not by his ability but by the power of God. When people follow image-conscious leaders, the leader is exalted. He is placed on a pedestal and ultimately takes the place of the Head of the church (i.e. our Lord). When people follow leaders with servant hearts, the Lord God is exalted. Those people speak of God's person, God's power,God's work, God's name, God's Word ... all for God's glory. Here's 2 revealing tests of humility:
i) A nondefensive spirit. "Nothing to prove, nothing to lose"
ii) An authentic desire to help others. A humility of mind that looks for ways to serve and to give.

c) absolute honesty (integrity)
"Therefore since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adultering the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. " (2 Cor 4:1-2)
Honesty. No ulterior motives. No hidden meanings. An absence of hypocrisy, duplicity, political games, and verbal superficiality.

Being real. that's what being a servant means - being who you really are - and then allowing the Lord God to develop within you a style of serving.

Swindoll quoted a passage from a children's book (The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams). The main character of the book is a little stuffed rabbit, all shiny and new, who goes through the process of becoming "real", that is, more than just a toy on a shelf. As he struggles with those initial feelings of uneasiness, he engages an old, worn-out, well-used, much-loved stuffed horse in conversation.

"The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursey than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real, you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are real you can't be ugly, except to the people who don't understand."


let us be authenic and real. Humble and honest.