Servanthood

Recently I submitted a resume to a church in Tempe, looking for a "Worship/Creative Arts Pastor." Not surprisingly, I've perusing their website trying to learn what I can about them. They have a few sermons online, both audio, and also some video, so I've been listening to sermons while doing my paperwork.

Today, I was listening to a sermon preached on their "Team Sunday." You can view it here. One thing stood out to me. It's one of those statements that was just sort of nestled in to the rest of the sermon, but it jumped out at me...

The pastor was talking about how Christ came to serve, not to be served, and how He called us to follow His example. I'm not sure what it was, but the truth of that just hit me hard. We live in a culture built on consumerism. Every day we are bombarded with advertisements, people trying to sell us their products, and we are daily put in the position of having to ask the purveyors of these products, "What is your product going to do for me? Why is it worth buying?" Or, "What service will you provide that is worth purchasing?" We are fixated day-in, and day-out on what others will do for us, what will benefit us. As Christians, we are called to have a different attitude - what is it that I can do for YOU? What service can I provide to you, to bless you, to make your life better/easier?

Jesus didn't come to "get," but to "give." He didn't come to sell a product either, but to give away what was rightfully his to keep - out of love.

This is our duty, our job, every day of our lives: to look for ways to serve, to give, to bless. To ignore the ways in which we can "get" from people. Jesus even said that this attitude extends to our enemies as well. "Bless those who curse you." We are to live a life with an outward flow, so to speak.

Here's the challenge: let's do something, ANYTHING for someone else today. Let's bless someone, whether they deserve it or not. Whether we feel like it or not.