LIFE SKILLS IX: PUTTING OTHERS FIRST
My Life as a Servant

Philippians 2:3-11 (NLT)

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. 4 Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing.

5 Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. 7 He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. 8 And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

When I lived in the Philippines we had a person who would drive my family’s cars for us. The driver’s name was Felix. I distinctively remember Felix. He was a quiet person, a man with few words. Driving in Manila was an adventure. Traffic was the norm; you had to maneuver your way through a myriad of small streets, being careful not to hit the hundreds of cars that are literally inches away from you, and paying close attention to people who walked the streets as if they, and not the cars, were the kings of the road. No wonder my parents hired Felix to drive for us!

Looking back I am pretty sure that Felix did not imagine his life to turn out the way it did. Drivers do not make that much money to begin with. Everyday he had to take the kids to school, fighting traffic and pollution wherever he went. If my parents wanted Felix in a particular place, he had to be there, no questions asked. Traffic cannot be used as an excuse for being late; you either make it on time or experience the wrath of my parents. In fact, Felix had to make himself available to my family 24 hours a day. He really did not have any days off. I assume he spent more time with me than with his own children.

Yet, I do not have any recollection of Felix ever complaining about life. Each time I was with him he treated me as one of his own. He protected me and cared for me. He even spoke kind words about my father and mother. Felix was never bitter about his life situation. He treated my family with the utmost respect, though I cannot say the same about my family towards him. Felix was a tireless person, even though each day took a toll on him physically. And while I knew he would love to spend his days with his family, my family came first for him. Felix literally gave his life for my family. Yes, it was probably done for economic reasons, but he still sacrificed himself for me nonetheless.

I still remember this one incident I had with Felix. Felix was sharing with me how poor his family was and how he could not afford to buy new clothes for his children. I ran into my room and gave him all of my clothes. My mom saw me and got very upset at me. But, Felix stepped up and lied for me, telling my mother that he made me do it. Of course Felix got into a lot of trouble and almost lost his job. Yet, he was willing to sacrifice his livelihood so that my mom would not be upset with me.

If I had to pick a person that resembles the servant lifestyle God speaks about in the Bible I would choose Felix. He was a person that had every reason to be upset at life. He had every right to carry a chip on his shoulder. I will admit that my family and I did not treat Felix as well as we could have. We only saw him as our servant; he had to do everything we commanded him to do. And yet he did his job well. He never used his situation against us. Instead, he chose to submit himself to us in servanthood.

Having qualities of a servant is not something people strive for today. Instead, the world teaches us to promote our own individuality, strength and wisdom. Who wants to occupy the lowest positions in life as a servant would? We would rather be at the forefront where everybody can see us!

Amazingly, the Bible encourages us to endeavor after servanthood. What the world thinks is absurd God elevates as ideal: he calls his people to serve him and to serve one another. Why is this so? Because this is exactly what Jesus did for us: he came down as a servant to die for each of us.

Paul eloquently points this out in Philippians 2:3-11, which will be our text today. More than anything, God desires that our lives reflect the servant lifestyle that Jesus had shown us when he was on earth. Being a servant is an important life skill that God wants us to have to change this world. This world will not be transformed through human strength and wisdom. It will be altered through humility and sacrifice. What are some guiding principles that we can learn from Philippians 2:3-11?

The first principle is this:

1. Servants never promote themselves. (verses 3-4)

Note how being selfish puts the focus upon ourselves whereas being humble draws the focus away from us.

When we elevate ourselves the focus is on us:
· We are selfish.
· We make good impressions.
· We are proud.
· We think only about our own affairs.

But, when we lower ourselves the focus is on others:
· We are humble.
· We think of others as better than ourselves.
· We are interested in other people’s affairs.

A servant never draws attention to himself or herself. This is because God, and not us, deserves all the glory. This is very difficult for us to do because our world is wired to promote the person and not the Lord. From getting a good grade to receiving a raise for a job well done, we strive to establish ourselves as worthy to be praised by others.

But, the Lord specifically calls us to do the opposite. We are to be humble and not seek good impressions from others. We are to think of other people and their life affairs instead of just focusing on our concerns all the time. We are not to be proud or boastful, but to meekly give of ourselves to others. A servant who has these qualities is admired and blessed by the Lord.

Now we are to have a servant attitude because this is exactly the kind of lifestyle Jesus exhibited to us. (verse 5) More significantly, Jesus revealed his servanthood by not clinging onto his rights as God. (verse 6) The second spiritual principle is this:

2. Servants never justify their importance. (verse 6)

· Jesus never claimed his rights as God; he chose to be a servant in order to save us.

This is an important principle to understand here. Remember that Jesus is God; thus, he could have demanded through his rights that he did not have to come down to earth in human form to be our sacrificial servant. Jesus could have claimed his position as King of all kings to prevent himself from going through the suffering and humiliation here on earth.

But, Jesus never does that. Can you imagine the Prince of peace, with all of his glory and majesty, stooping down to become like one of us so as to reach out to us in very personal intimate ways? This kind of action is not common in our society today. In fact, we do the opposite of what Jesus did. There is no way a CEO of a company should be sweeping the restroom floors. A ministry leader should never pick up the trash in the sanctuary. Why should someone with a graduate degree end up teaching first graders in Sunday school instead of the adults?

Having this kind of attitude is not what God looks for in his servants. Jesus never justified his importance as the son of God. Instead, he faithfully obeyed the Father’s will, even though he had every right not to go through the disgrace he faced here on earth. To be a servant we too should never justify our worth. Do not demand that you are better than the work God assigns for you. Regardless of our positions, rankings, or authority here on earth, we can never compare to the awesome glory of God. When we match up with God we realize that we are all small compared to his greatness. To be his servant is a privilege rather than a demotion.

Now as we make our way to verse 7 we read about Jesus making himself nothing as he takes the humble position of a human slave. In the first principle above we learned that a servant does not promote himself or herself. The focus is not upon our self-glory. An extension of this attitude is found in the third principle of servanthood:

3. Servants work invisibly. (verse 7)

The opposite of self-promotion is not spiritual idleness. God still expects us to serve his purpose, but to serve him in a quiet and gentle posture. In doing God’s work we never seek attention the way the world understands it.

· The world teaches us to be visible. (be proud, be selfish, be known, be powerful)
But:

· God teaches us to be invisible. (be humble, be caring, be meek, be unrecognizable)

You know Jesus did not have to come down as a humble servant. He did not have to make himself nothing. Remember, he is the King of kings. With his majestic power Jesus could have changed our lives with a snap of a finger.

But, Jesus chose to take this route for one simple reason: if the Lord over all creation was willing to be our slave and die for each of us, then we would genuinely understand what unconditional love truly means. This goes opposite with what the world believes a leader should be: to change something takes a proud, selfish and powerful person. But, Jesus shows us that being humble, caring and meek is more effective in a power-hungry world. A true leader is an invisible servant, one who points others to Christ instead of wanting to taste his or her own glory. We do not remain idle; we continue to do God’s work. But, the visible honor goes back to God and not us. We remain invisible, quiet and unobtrusive so that the Spirit of God can enact his power upon broken lives.

This point leads us to our last servanthood principle:

4. Servants humbly sacrifice. (verse 8)

Not only was Jesus made nothing. Not only did he take up a human form. Not only did he take up the position of a slave. Jesus humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. (verse 8) No other images we have of Jesus can best project one of humble sacrifice than that of Jesus hanging on the cross for us. He lowered himself, forgoing his position and status as God, so that we may have a chance to find redemption in him. Jesus ultimately wanted humanity to be restored back to God, and he willingly gave himself up in order for this restoration to be possible.

And yet, it is in this most depleted state that God exalted Jesus as Lord of all:

· Jesus died a criminal’s death, yet in the end he was exalted as Lord of all. (verses 9-11)

· God will exalt those who live in humble sacrifice.

A humble sacrifice will find honor from God. Jesus knew his humble life was tied to his obedience to his Father. And it was God who brought Jesus back to his rightful glory. It is God who will recognize us for our humble sacrifices as well. And God will exalt us for our faithful obedience to him. Now, how do we practically live out such a humble lifestyle? Here are a few applications for the church today:

APPLICATION

1. Learn to take a back seat; put other people’s lives ahead of yours.
2. You must give up personal selfishness for humble sacrifice.
3. Never justify your importance.
4. Do not seek for personal glory. God will recognize you for your humble efforts.

© Arthur Hsu (2003)