I found myself being a servant.
My husband fell once and injured his leg badly enough to need help with everything for three months. He could not stand or bear weight, get into the shower, or safely climb the many steps in our house. I was suddenly the servant in our home. I discovered that servants don’t always get thanked for what they do, nor do they get to choose a convenient time to do a task. Servants just do their job.
Perhaps we have volunteered for a job at church and couldn’t understand why everyone did not praise or love our work. Or, we thought we were doing an excellent job, but someone else took credit for the success.
A servant is not a household member, nor do they get a voice in choosing the job. A servant doesn’t have the privilege of receiving praise. It’s nice when it happens, but a servant isn’t praised by his master for performing his duty.
Servanthood is not popular, so why should we consider it a Christian virtue? The Bible says Jesus became a servant, doing what the Father told Him to do.
It’s humbling to realize the King of Glory took the form of a servant for sinful people so that we could live with Him forever. This perfect One did not ask for praise or attention but taught us to be servants by following His example. He even washed His disciples’ feet.
We can get our feelings hurt when we don’t receive praise for a job well done at church or in our homes, but as a servant, God will praise us with a “well done, good and faithful servant.” And that will be more glorious than anything we receive on earth.
How can you do a better job of being a servant?
(Photo courtesy of pixabay and Sonnenstrahl.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Linda McClung grew up on a farm in Virginia and spent fifty years as a nurse, both practicing and teaching. She retired to South Carolina to enjoy the lake and became bored with too much time, so she began to write. At first, her stories were short stories for the grandchildren, but as they grew, so did her stories. She has three books published.