The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:28
I arrived early for my spa appointment, trying to play it cool and hide my excitement. An afternoon in a robe and slippers, shuffling between the sauna, a massage appointment, and the container of chocolate-covered almonds, was exactly what I’d hoped for in a day of ultimate relaxation. When the spa technician greeted me and began to show me around, I took mental notes of each little amenity. We were ending the tour in the locker room, where a flurry of women were transitioning from one luxury to the next, when a woman stopped the spa tech with a scowl.
“Tell me how to set my locker again,” she barked, though she’d just overheard the tech share the instructions with me.
As the technician calmly started to repeat the directions, the woman held up her hand. “No!” She shifted to a harsher, growling voice. “Actually, I don’t really care. This is terrible. Forget it.”
An awkward silence hung over the locker room as lotioned faces looked up to see what was going on. All eyes had found the spa technician, who stood there blushing and stunned after the decades-older guest “put her in her place.”
Moments like this make me cringe. I’ve worked in the service industry. I’ve seated, waited, and bused tables, helped women find and purchase beauty products, worked in homes as a nanny who carried out multiple responsibilities around the house, I’ve been a teacher serving students, and I’ve helped
tenants at an apartment management company. In all those jobs I’ve lived the same moment I witnessed the spa technician suffer through— dissatisfied people “putting me in my place” and treating me with unnecessary rudeness. In fact, some people even seemed to enjoy using their wealth, power, and authority as an excuse to demand their way. If you want to know what someone thinks about weakness, watch how they treat people they’ve paid to serve them.
Are you in a position of serving? Maybe you’re employed as a concierge, finding just the right fit for your guests’ needs, or you’re a nurse caring for the medical and hygiene needs of your patients. Maybe you manage a customer service line, and you deal with hostile questions about billing and damaged
products. Or maybe you’re a mom who spends much of your day changing diapers, scrubbing stains out of pants, wiping counters, and getting people food. As you serve others, perhaps you’ve been treated as “less than,” you’ve felt “less than,” or you’ve wondered if your work even matters.1
Those of us who struggle with the weakness of serving can find shelter in Jesus. Over and over in the Gospels, Jesus sees and intentionally approaches the positionally weak (the lowly, the servants, and the culturally unimportant) with dignity and care. And though he is Lord, able to demand obedience even from the wind and the waves, he doesn’t leverage his power and position for selfish gain. Instead, he gives us the gain, coming to serve in a way that reveals his kingdom and offers citizenship through salvation in his name (Mark 10:25). In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we get a profound description of the mind of Christ when we learn he “ did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7). Jesus not only understands serving; he chose it.
Being I AM, Jesus could have inhabited any part of society or held unmatched earthly authority (John 8:58). He could have held political power or been an earthly king or high priest. He could have lived in an area of the world or held a profession that brought him social esteem and earthly riches. He could
have chosen to influence people through traditional means, getting into the most positionally powerful spot available until all eyes were on him and he had instant credibility. Yet he chose an earthly position of weakness—living in a small village, working as a carpenter, rubbing shoulders with the outcast, and living in the shadows of Jewish society.
As you consider your days and maybe even wrestle with the social embarrassment that can come with positional weakness—as you find yourself in roles that aren’t as powerful, impressive, and important as others—will you remember that you ultimately serve Christ (Colossians 3:23-24)? Whatever you do, you do unto him, “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. . . . Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:35-40). Serving Christ means walking in his ways, and as you serve Jesus, remember that your “place” is always safe in his kingdom (John 14:2).
Just as Jesus says, “Many who are first will be last, and the last first,” we can rest assured that our Lord sees our earthly position and ultimately rewards any service or sacrifice in his name (Matthew 19:29-30). In your everyday work, you can be confident that service is good and glorifies God. Serve with joy because you serve the Lord—who loves, honors, and rewards even the lowliest work done unto him.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- We don’t have to be subject to others’ abuse of authority, and we should take action to report it and stop others from doing harm. If you are experiencing bullying or abuse in your service job, please reach out to the appropriate superior at work, a trusted friend, or law enforcement.
***
We all feel weak sometimes.
He Is Strong, by bestselling author Emily A. Jensen, encourages you to rest in God’s help and strength for every one of your inadequacies. Filled with devotionals containing honest stories about her own feelings of weakness, Emily will lead you back to the gospel for wisdom, hope, and comfort. As the familiar hymn says, “They are weak, but he is strong.”
Read more about He Is Strong here.
Leave a Reply