SERVICE & A HUMILITY CHECK: LESSONS FROM DAVID

There is so much talk about service not just in the body of Christ and in Churches but in our world in general. Service is a highly discussed topic in Entrepreneurship and Business these days and if you’ve spent even the tiniest portion of your time in Church, you’ve probably heard a sermon or two about serving and what it means to serve.

So let’s do definitions.  Service is simply proffering solutions to problems.

There is not a single person alive, who is relevant for better or for worse that isn’t providing a solution to some problem. So the question isn’t just how to serve, it’s how to do Godly service.

I say Godly service because if there is a Godly way to serve, it follows that there is an ungodly way to serve. People are constantly proffering solutions to ungodly desires and innovating along ungodly lines whether it is trashy tv, porn or the flurry of apps that promote ungodly activities.

Now if the purpose of this write-up was to discuss ‘how to be relevant in the kingdom of the world’ we might spend a bit more time running through ways to serve in the opposite direction. Since it’s not (Hallelujah) let’s stick to service as it concerns Christians and the Kingdom of God.

The Concept of service is something that is easily and readily on the lips of every Christian.  One way or another, whether we truly grasp all of what it means,  past a certain point in our relationships with God; many of us in wanting to take things to the next level with God have or will probably say one of the following words;

“Lord I want to serve you.  Lord I want to do your will or Lord I want you to use me”. However, the question that is rarely ever dealt with is… Do I have the right disposition or heart to serve you?

There are many dispositions required to serve and one key and indispensable one in faithful service is Humility.We (as in me and all my people out there) often hinge our willingness to serve on compassion and yes compassion is incredibly important. Why? Because therein lies the love in serving but your service and compassion will only go so far if you are lacking in humility. It is impossible to serve God and in that, your fellow man without humility.

One of my favourite things about God and His word is that it is as much conviction to those hearing it as it is to the vessel delivering it. Even as I write this, I am having to do a humility check and the Holy Spirit is asking me, “how many times did you fail and miss an opportunity to serve because you considered yourself as being above the task or the task being beneath you?” Truth be told, the answer is more times than I can answer without being embarrassed or ashamed but thank God for the grace for do overs and renewed opportunities.

QUESTION: WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY BIGGER THAT VERSUS WHAT WE “THINK” WE ARE BIGGER THAN?

At some point in our lives whether we said it or thought it, a majority of us, have harboured in some way, the thought that doing specific things were beneath us. The question though is….. According to who?

We often judge tasks in accordance to where we are in life which is wrapped in a very worldly and human way of thinking.  As Christians and even as Human beings in general, our purpose has always been wrapped up in service. Each and every one of us is a potential answer to a problem. The question is will we ever cultivate the humility to serve long enough to actualize that potential and be a blessing? Our ability to be useful and provide solutions or just be a solution is tied to everything we do in life. We advance and form relationships especially as adults on the grounds of usefulness or solutions we are able to provide, tangible or intangible.

You get the jobs you get because you are just what the company lacks and requires to tighten its business process or grow. You form meaningful friendships because you meet some emotional or practical need of the other person. Whether it is the ability to understand how their minds work, provide meaningful advice and direction or be a push or encourage them in reaching their goals. One way or another you are serving a purpose in your relationships.

You get married because the other person decides that beyond loving you, you are just the support and other half they need to fulfil purpose in life and it goes on and on.

All of these different reasons are tied to usefulness and being useful and providing solutions is how we serve.

No matter how big and successful we get in life we will always be required to serve. David who is one of the most revered and loved Patriarchs, and was also mighty, wealthy and a King was a true servant. If you’ve spent any time studying the Character of David one thing that is almost impossible to miss was the tremendous humility with which David approached life. 

David wasn’t just humble in his walk with God, he was humble in his dealings with his superiors and as well as in his dealings with his subordinates.

We see David exhibit Humility to God in his worship, praise and repentance to God in (Psalm 19:12, Psalm 51: 2- 17)

We see Humility to Superiors in his service to King Saul even after He had been anointed King and was known (1 Samuel 16: 14-23)

Finally we see humility is his receiving Counsel from Abigail the wife of Naban. (1 Samuel 14-35)

When we show Humility in life and particularly in service, there are blessing and victories awaiting us. Some of those blessings come via instructions and counsel. One thing my Pastor says is that there are certain things God will never tell us because He has told someone around our lives and ministry and until we humble ourselves we will never know it.

A perfect example of this would be the counsel Abigail gave to David that prevented David from sinning against God. David was able to accept counsel from Abigail because he did not proceed from a place of pride or haughtiness.

“6 things the Lord hates, 7 things he abhors, a proud heart, a haughty look, a lying tongue” (Proverbs 6: 16 – 19)

In addittion to being prevented from sinning against God, David wound up marrying a really wise wife. Like she was Jedi-level wise, that Abigail.It was this same humility that David exhibited in all these things that made him an excellent servant of God and his people. David was able to serve, do all he did and become all of who he became because he never allowed perception of self to cloud his judgement in all his dealings. This disposition allowed David serve God and his generation faithfully.

 Towards the end of David’s life in referring to him the bible does not make reference to the positions, titles or status David held. Rather, what is said of David in Acts 13:36 is that David served his generation. This I think for me is super profound, that for all David did and was, the metrics for weighing his life and legacy was still service.

To be able to truly serve we need to stop seeing ourselves as being above certain acts of service whether it’s with God, our fellow human beings, in Church or wherever. The second you start to think of yourself as being above a certain thing or task in relation to other people, there is a likelihood that pride might be taking over. The truth is we serve God by serving others. God uses us to solve problems for our fellow human beings and when praise and thanksgiving rise up to the heavens to God on our account or because of what we have done, then we have served.

If we see ourselves as being above certain people or situations, how do we then serve that which we regard as being beneath us?

“If anyone among you wishes to lead he must serve.” (Mark 9:35, Matthew 20:26)

If the situations and circumstances of your life were turned around (God Forbid) and say you were dropped 2 economic or social statuses below where you currently are now, how many of the things that you claim are beneath you would really be beneath you. It is so crucial that we do not allow situations in life humble us and we tap into all of that grace and wisdom available to us to check ourselves so as not to be of the wrong disposition and miss out on lessons and blessings that accrue to each season of our life.

It isn’t always the easiest and trust me I should know. It is a struggle I constantly have to put before God. Because the more I grow in my walk with God, the more I understand the importance of never being too big to serve or submit to authority no matter where I find myself in life.

Mighty or lowly, service is an indispensable part of life and the second you stop being able to serve, you not only lose your ability to grow but also to Lead. As a Christian, you lose relevance in the Kingdom of God because God’s kingdom is all about serving.