3 Things a Servant Says

“A new and better way.” That’s where we ended our discussion last time. Since no one wants to be a fool, what’s the alternative, the new and better way? We can find it in three powerful statements that reflect our belief in Jesus as Lord.

“I trust him to be in charge.”

Paul’s letter to the Colossians sets a completely different understanding of who we are and where our brains should be going as Christ-followers. “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:12). If I say I belong to Christ, a part of what that means is that I trust Christ.

I trust him. Which means, “I trust him to act. I trust him to be in charge. I trust him, in fact, to give me a purpose that is far different than the human frustration of trying to control other people and all of my circumstances so that I can get what I want.” And as we have seen, that’s the exact opposite of the person scripture describes as a fool.

It may be that in some of those circumstances, instead of jumping in right away to fix our circumstances, the first thing we should do is to pray and ask God to guide our actions. Prayer is the thing that begins to change the circumstance in a way that in fact, we cannot.

I think that’s what Paul means when he says, “Seek the things that are above” (Col. 3:12b). In other words, to seek the things that are above, meaning the things of God, in the midst of this situation means that I’m trusting God for outcomes I can’t create. I’m believing that God can move into the situation in a way I can’t. I’m willing to take my place and act according to what I believe he is asking of me, but in the end, I’m only a very small part in his larger plan. So all I can do and should do is to do my part and leave the rest up to God.

“I will take my place in what he would have me do.”

That’s a servant. That’s just someone who has yielded his or her life to the authority of God and says, “God is good. I trust in him. And I will take my place in what he would have me do.”

You see, the call to follow Christ is not a call to inaction or passivity. It’s a call to appropriate action, meaning servant-like action.

Yes, servants are who we are—not masters. Jesus is the master and we are not. But a servant is someone who is committed to service. In other words, a Christ-following life is not one of inaction. But it is service, it is giving, it is generosity, it is washing feet, it is stepping in to make a difference. But not to make a difference so that I can get what I want but stepping in to make a difference so that somehow, God might use me.

Now it’s tricky. It’s subtle. And what I mean by that is that I’ve known people, and I’m sure you have too, who use religious motivations as a cover to do whatever they like. Some of the most dangerous language in the entire human existence is “The Lord told me to tell you.” That makes me nervous. It can be an excuse to use God to get what I want. But that is not the action of a servant. That’s the action of someone who is actually using Christianity to remain the master of his or her own fate.

“May your will be done, O God.”

So we need God to create a work in us, to make us these kinds of servants. Because left to my own devices, I will certainly become the man in Ecclesiastes, the owner whom God calls a fool in the New Testament. I’ll do my best to get whatever I want and whatever I need by whatever means possible.

We live in a culture that glorifies that kind of self-made, arrogant existence. It’s the soup we live in. Even a lot of our comedy shows on TV are centered around anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language—the very things Paul tells us to let go of (cf. Col. 3:8). When we laugh about it, more often than not, instead of seeing its folly, we’re enjoying it.

Be careful, sisters and brothers. Instead of living like fools, we should talk to God: “Lord, help me more and more to be not a master but a servant, someone who gives, who’s kind, who’s generous, who’s thoughtful. That somehow what really might happen is not so much me getting my way, but that somehow instead God’s will might be done.”

Because that is in fact, the prayer of a servant. “May your will be done, O God. Amen.”

What else might a true servant say? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share this blog and your comments on Twitter and include my username, @revgregbrewer.

(This post is an adaption of Bishop Brewer’s sermon on July 31, 2016, at St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church, Bushnell, Fla.)

Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.