I have been studying the second letter of Paul to the church of Corinth lately and I was struck by the character trait of a servant I saw spelled out by Paul. Indeed, in our Christian walk, the servant is the greatest. Jesus told his disciples that whoever wanted to be first must be a servant (Matthew 20:26). He also told his disciples that he came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Jesus was not only a leader who spoke the truth but he also walked the way he often spoke of; he was and still is our example. Unlike many of our leaders today who are satisfied with only telling the people what to do instead of being students of the very ideologies they pass around, Jesus “walked the talk”, what he said he did as well. He was irreproachable, his attitude was faultless, he gave no one a reason to not believe him or to doubt his character and his message. Likewise, we too must be his imitators, we must learn to follow Jesus in everything that he did, learning from him and presenting him to the world. One of the ways we do that is by obeying his command of being a servant. What exactly is a servant and what are some of the character traits of a servant which we must emulate? My purpose with today’s post is to answer those questions based on the writings of Paul in his second letter to the Corinthian church.
A servant is someone who serves. Commonly, this refers to someone who is in service of somebody else. It could be another person, or an institution. The servant ‘s role is simply to serve and to provide for the needs of his master or to perform the duties of the person he or she is in service of. This is not typically where people find offense, the definition of a servant is not an issue, usually the issue is in the abuse of service. Because of the bad connotation the word servant has, no one wants to be a servant because it means being trampled on, being mocked, being lowly, having people do whatever they want to us. In the bible, the word for servant is often translated as ‘slave’ which has an even worse connotation in our modern day because it leads us to think of the African slave trade that caused devastating effects that are still lingering today. In the bible however, the position of servant or of slave is first of all voluntary and second it is a higher one because that is the way to be great; it is the honourable way, the one the Lord Jesus himself advocates, the one that glorifies God and the one that Jesus took as position for himself. Servanthood in the bible is out of freedom, like Jesus said he chose to give his life, to lay it down for us (John 10:18), so it must be the same for us, we too choose to give our life in the same manner, to give our life in service to our Lord. This is what Paul encourages us to do in his letters, this is what Paul himself did, this is what the early church did and this is what we too must do for our brothers and sisters. So then, what are the characteristics of a servant? My guess is you will be as shocked as I was because I did not expect this answer.
The main characteristic of a servant as laid out by Paul is one that is commendable in every way. Very straightforward, I know but let me explain further. Paul tells us that as servants of God, he and his companions commended themselves in every way: “in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God” (2 Corinthians 6:4-7). Indeed, the servant of God is one that is excellent in every situation, responding contrary to the popular pattern of the world. As Paul explained in the verse prior, as a servant of God, he does not put a stumbling block in anyone’s path. Other translation say that Paul ensured he was not a topic of scandal so that the name of Christ would not be mocked by Paul’s scandalous behaviour thus leading others to leave the faith. That is the attitude of a servant which is commendable. In addition to that Paul says that a servant must be able to have an unshakable endurance in hardships, distresses, troubles, in fact, in any situation mentioned above and in any bad situation we can find ourselves in. Moreover, a servant is one who considers it all joy whenever he or she is going through trials because he or she knows that the testing of his or her faith develops perseverance and perseverance must be mature and complete (James 1:2-5). Evidently, this kind of thinking was not specific to Paul alone but to all believers. Instead of giving in to the difficulties of hardships, trials, and sufferings, Paul tells us that a servant is one that is enduring in “purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love”. The role of a servant of God forces us to be kind, to persevere in good acts we would be quick to give up on. For example, it is very difficult to love an unlovable person however, the servant of God perseveres in sincere love. Moreover, the servant of God is one that keeps on telling the truth, on seeking the truth, on being in the truth even when it is difficult, or when there are persecutions that arise. Indeed, the servant of God continues in purity, in understanding, in patience. All these are difficult characteristics to emulate and to even portray when you are dealing with people who have offended you or hurt you. However, the attitude of the servant as Paul describes is one that does not give up when it comes to emulating Christ, when it comes to elevating Christ, when it comes to making Him glorious. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and it is what He helps us to accomplish in our trials and difficulties as well as in our good moments. In all of our difficulties, as servants of God, we are called to do what Christ would do or has done. We must elevate his principles; we must live by the spirit and not by the flesh.
I don’t know if like me you had ever seen perseverance and endurance in trials and in elevating Christ’s principles as a character trait of a servant but this is something I was quite struck by this week. In addition to that, I was able to see that service in the world is very different from service in the kingdom of God. I knew that service in the kingdom of God involved laying down one’s life for others but it was interesting to see that it showed itself in how one perseveres in the face of trials (physical or spiritual) and in the face of difficult situations that call you to retaliate in attitudes that are not Christ’s like such as anger, lie, corruption and the like. This is obviously easier said than done and as Paul has written this to us, it is possible to be attained with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is not something we can muster in ourselves; this is not something that comes from us but it is something the Lord does in us. As we continue to make room for Him to take His place in our lives, as we continue to give Him priority, as we continue to grow in our love and affection for Him, our response to servanthood should look more and more like that of Paul’s and other patriarchs and like that of Christ. I pray we learn to love words the bible love like service rather than despise them like the world does. May we be people who care solely to make Christ known in all we do. Father, teach us how to honour you well in our service. Amen!
A Word Aptly Spoken 