Who do you look up to? Who do you revere? What are their qualities? Are they great leaders? Are they people of high integrity? Are they a person who would give you the shirt off their back? Are they humble? Are they servants? Would you revere a humble servant?
There are many kinds of people we look up to or are in awe of. They may be extremely gifted athletes. They may be world leaders. They may be a person who has broken through a glass ceiling. They may be trendsetters. They may be people with great integrity.
Yet not many of us look up to a person who is a humble servant. No, a servant is likely the last person we will hold in high esteem. They are often near invisible. They come and go quietly and do nothing to bring attention to themselves. In royal palaces, they often know far more than anyone else. Their integrity and discipline to hold their tongue is uncanny.
But that is a human viewpoint of a servant. God’s viewpoint of a servant is different. Take a look at John the Baptist. He wasn’t quiet. In fact, he tangled with the religious leaders. He proclaimed loudly the Messiah was coming. He warned the people to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. He proclaimed something new.
John was a humble servant. He submitted to God’s plan. He did not hold himself in high esteem but, instead, lifted high the Lord Jesus. John saw himself as being lower than a servant. For a servant would remove a rabbi’s sandals. John didn’t view himself worthy to do that for Jesus. Yet he loudly proclaimed His coming.
A humble servant of God’s is a person who sits quietly in the corner. They submit to God’s plan and carry out the tasks God lays before them, even (perhaps especially) when those tasks are counter to their personality. Did you know a large percentage of pastors are introverts? They answer God’s calling on their lives despite feeling inadequate to do so. Each of us are being called by God to carry a task. Whether we feel equipped or not, we are to submit to God’s plan humbly and become his servant.
I pray we all humbly submit to God and his plan. I pray we seek to be a servant of God’s. I pray each one of us will boldly go with the confidence of God to perform the tasks he lays before us. Be humble. Be a servant. Seek to know God’s plan. Perform the tasks he gives you. Go with God’s boldness.
Mark 1:7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.”
Marty Pressey 