As Pastor Nick said yesterday, Paul could have pushed his credentials, his sufferings, or his power and authority when introducing himself to the church in Rome. He could have, but he didn't. He introduced himself as a servant of God. This got me thinking about what it means to be a servant. Here are a few things I came up with.
- There is no shame in being a servant. Jesus is called "the suffering servant." If I am to more adequately reflect Christ, it must also include servitude, not merely service.
- The Greek (see tomorrow's post on Greek Geeks) gives the word's original meaning as a servant, bondservant, or slave.
- People are either slaves to the world, or slaves to God. There are no free people, just slaves with different masters.
- 25-40% of Romans were slaves, so it was a good guess that many people hearing the words in Rome might have thought "Hey, he is a servant of God, I never thought about it that way before!"
- Slaves' lives are controlled by the master. The slaves don't live for themselves nor make any decision without the permission of the master.
- It is hard for this stubborn American to bend the knee and accept his role as a servant.
How about you? What do you think about being "the servant of God"?
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