The Heart of a Servant
To be honest, this post was weird for me to write. The subject of relatability and approachability is hard to write about because these are not things you can check off a list or follow a ‘how to’ post. These are things that flow from one’s heart, they must be natural for them to be real. We all want to be authentic, right? But if we are trying so hard to be authentic, are we being so?
GOD HAS PLACED US IN CIRCLES OF PEOPLE AND HE HAS POURED OUT HIS LOVE AND GIFTS TO US SO THAT WE MAY SERVE ONE ANOTHER.
In Scripture, Jesus commands us to love one another. Love is a fruit of the Spirit and a characteristic that disciples of Christ must seek to grow in. When we look at Jesus, we see him live a life of service that flows out of love for people. Jesus talked to every kind of person he came across: the rich, the poor, the sick, the outcast, the Pharisees, etc. Jesus had no limits to who he loved, who he taught and who he reached out to. I believe that we are to live the same kind of life, a life in which we serve, build the Kingdom, and live out the love of Christ. Loving and serving one another is not just a command from Scripture we need to follow, it is a choice and it flows from within us.
The reason I am pressing into this subject of service and love, is because I believe that each one of us, servants of God, can choose to live like Jesus did or choose to live for ourselves. When we are given the opportunity to serve on a platform, do we use it to get closer to people or farther away? As worship leaders, we must quickly run away from any thoughts of achieving an untouchable position among people, we must shut down our pride and we must focus on our mission: serving the Lord and ushering his people into His presence. It is an honor, and it cannot be done if our ego and pride are in the way. When leading worship, we must remember that we not only serve God, but his church. We need to be prepared and focused while doing our task, and it needs to be done in love and passion. Love and passion must come from within us, they can’t be faked, and they cannot be hidden.
So we notice that the role of a servant requires humility, love and naturally, involvement in community. God has placed us in circles of people and he has poured out his love and gifts to us so that we may serve one another. If we use what God gives us for ourselves, it is not service.
I think we need to evaluate our hearts regularly and ask the Lord to show us our intentions in our ministry. When our intention is to lever ourselves up, it is impossible for us to serve others properly and authentically. We need to remind our hearts and minds that service comes out of love for God, and people and not ourselves. Once we know this, we are free of heaviness, stress and self-centeredness, and serving becomes a pleasure. It flows from our hearts and it becomes natural. It is only then, that relatability and approachability become part of who we are because we don’t think have to think about it…we just are.