by Elder Peter Lim

One of the things that people look for when they first attend a church is genuine care and community. They might even count the number of times that others initiate discussions with them and attempt to befriend them. Repeat visitors often judge a church based on how many people actually remember their names and maybe invite them to activities that will further integrate the newcomers into the community. These are not bad things of course and we all want them. However for the mature believer, their goal is not to be served, but to serve. Having this servant mentality was the point of Jesus’ instruction in John 13 as He exemplified this by washing His disciples’ feet. Both Galatians 5:13 and 1 Peter 4:10 mention how we are to serve one another. That was the purpose of spiritual gifts. Surely these thoughts are not new to any Christian. A mature believer who is visiting or looking for a new church to fellowship with will look beyond the surface and evaluate the hearts of the servants who are serving there. Here are some situations where immature and mature people behave differently (click to enlarge):

Unfortunately, many have an entitlement mentality rather than a servant mentality. They would prefer to be served rather than to serve. Do you have an entitlement mentality? Take this quick test:

• When groups of people are excused to stand in line at a banquet or wedding reception, do you get offended if your group is called to go last?
• When the praise team is leading the church in worship, do you criticize the style of music because it’s not the style that you like?
• When the sermon runs longer than usual, do you complain about the length rather than trying harder to pay attention (despite the difficulty) knowing that the pastor has worked hard at preparing the sermon and is passionate about this particular topic?

Few would admit that they have this entitlement mentality but these attitudes can be seen by their lack of service when opportunities are present. Spiritually mature believers consider it an honor to serve, rather than a chore. Of course it’s not a complete denial that service can be difficult, inconvenient, nor unpleasant. If serving was always fun, we wouldn’t need to be encouraged nor taught to do this by Jesus Himself. But this is exactly why this servant mentality is a sign of spiritual maturity; serving people is a desire of the heart despise one’s own selfish inhibitions because it reflects a heart which sees reality through God’s values rather than natural, fleshly values. His values call for us to humbly serve one another with no air of superiority over another because we are all fellow slaves. This makes us more like Jesus Himself since He came to serve rather than to be served.

When was the last time you actually served someone else at church? Is it hard to think of it? If so, it could be a sign that you are not taking seriously enough our calling as servants. In fact, the original Greek word for servant is actually better translated slave. Although it’s not popular in modern American society to call each other slaves, the Biblical understanding is that we are willing slaves of Jesus Christ. We serve Christ by serving one another and by serving His bride, the church. There are many opportunities to serve. To serve others, you can start by getting to know people more deeply so that you can find out how to help. To serve the church, you can look at our Sunday bulletins to see where the service opportunities are. One word of caution though, many opportunities to help are not glamorous. It may require much sacrifice on your part and faithful execution. Be careful what you ask for because you may end up getting it. Also, you may be challenged to stretch yourself in ways that you previously didn’t think you could. That is a blessing. Let’s make our church a living example of Christians who love to serve one another and labor hard for the Lord.