Nov 24 2007
Servanthood – part 2
Am I usually more concerned about being served or finding ways to serve others?
The Purpose Driven Life, p. 271
Amazingly, at this point in my life, I’m more concerned about finding ways to serve others. Being a husband and a father, I truly want to serve my wife and daughter, because I love them so much. I love other Christians too and I want to serve them as much as I can. As I previously blogged, I struggle with making myself available for serving. I’m glad to say that at least my thinking is in the right place. I’m just having a tough time deploying my attitude of servitude. I must continue to focus on Jesus so I won’t lose this attitude, as written in Philippians 2:5 (NIV)
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
In a current event, my servant heart is being tested. At work I was basically told I was not doing my job properly. I was accused of being sloppy. I sought advice from my colleagues and they confirmed my thinking that my manager was a little harsh on me. My manager’s evidences were arguably sketchy. My manager could be reacting from assumptions and doubt. My natural instincts were to defend myself, by explaining what happened and pointing to the lack of evidence. But after reading this chapter, I realize that I must be a steward, not an owner. I must serve, not pretend I own the project and do whatever I please. I must put the priority of others before mine. I must put other’s expectations before mine. Looking at it from a servant attitude, with humility and truth, I can see clearly what needs to be said and done. In this case, I must remember to put other’s needs ahead of me and set parameters to be successful.
