“I’m hungry, can’t you make me some food?!” If you’re a parent, you’ve likely heard your children squawk this line hundreds of times. You’ve probably heard it at all hours of the day, especially 30 minutes after you’ve just finished eating dinner.
As young children, we naturally desire and have a great need to be served and cared for by our parents. Then, as we grow and mature into adulthood, our need to have caretakers dissipates. Rather than relying on someone else to always meet our needs, we find that adulthood means we are now the ones meeting the needs of others. Rather than asking someone else to make us food, we prepare food for them instead.
But just as young children constantly desire to be served, even long time Christians can get stuck in the spiritual rut of constantly desiring to be served by others.
But a prominent mark of Christian health is that you have transitioned from the one being served to the one doing the serving. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
I want to affirm that there are times when it is good and even necessary to let others serve us. In the church, even the most mature believers need the family of God to serve them in various ways. However, problems begin to occur when we fail to serve and are mostly interested in receiving. In church life, we sometimes fall into this trap without ever realizing it.
Consider your thought process in the following scenario: You have recently moved to a new city and are searching for a church home. Would your mindset be one of looking for the church that could best serve you? Perhaps this church could provide your favorite music, fun classes for your children, or frequent preaching on topics you find most interesting. Or in contrast, would you prioritize finding the church where your unique spiritual gifting was most needed? The place where you could maximize your service to others?
Perhaps your answer to these questions reveals where your heart is. Do you still most desire to be served, or is the Holy Spirit growing in you a heart for serving others?
Recent months have felt much more tumultuous than usual, and opportunities to serve your brothers and sisters in the faith abound. Are you ready to take a step forward in your discipleship by serving in a new and greater way today? Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 20:28: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” How can you follow His example of service today?