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Willing To Be A Servant - Part 4 of 4

For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
2 Corinthians 10:18

If your sense of self-worth is based on anything other than God's approval, you won't serve with the right motives. True servants accept jobs that insecure people consider "beneath them'. Remember Jesus washing the feet of His disciples? Could you do that? Insecure people always worry about how they appear. They hide their weaknesses beneath layers of protective pride. The more insecure you are, the more you need people to serve you, and the more you work for their acceptance. Henri Nouwen says, "In order to be of service to others, we have to die to them; that is, we have to give up measuring our meaning and value by the yardstick of others, thus we become free to be compassionate." Your service should not be based on the response of those you're serving, but on obedience to God alone. True servants don't need to cover their walls with plaques or insist on lofty titles. Paul writes, 'You may boast about yourself, but the only approval that counts is the Lord's approval" (2 Corinthians 10:18). If anybody had a chance to "name-drop" it was James the half-brother of Jesus. What credentials, growing up with Jesus as your brother! Yet he simply referred to himself as "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1). Your service to Christ shouldn't be an obligation or a job, it should be a joy. Listen: "Serve the Lord with gladness" (Psalm 100:2). Can you imagine what would happen if even 10 percent of us got serious about our role as true servants?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, Help me focus on you and others and their needs more than on mine. I trust you for my needs; use me to be you to others who are in need. In Your Precious Name, Amen