The Outward Disciplines
The Discipline of Service
Pecking Orders and Ledgers
Matthew 20:25-28
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. [26] Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, [27] and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- [28] just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
John 13:3-5, 12-16
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; [4] so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. [5] After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
[12] When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. [13] "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. [14] Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. [15] I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. [16] I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
Introduction: I know that accountants have been getting a raw deal lately because of the abuses of a few. But just last night, I realized that there was a very real parallel between chickens and accountants. In chicken society, the most important interaction occurs when the pecking order is established. Every chick quickly learns where they are in that order. If someone steps out of line, they are quickly put back in the right place. Only the strongest and most dominant chicken gets to eat first. They know who is in debt to whom. And that is exactly what accountants are paid to do as well. They are to keep track of who owes whom. When the ledger is out of balance, there is a debt to be paid and people rush together to get things back in the proper order.
Pecking orders and Ledgers, there are not many differences.
Every discipline in the Christian life, has its dangers. Simplicity can be turned into ascetic legalism; Solitude can be turned into escapism; Meditation into laziness. When the Discipline become the focus, the Discipline goes out of focus. While the Spiritual disciplines will lead us to a deeper walk with Christ, they are but a guide. When our focus becomes following a discipline rather than following Christ, we fall into a legalism that leads to spiritual death.
This truth is central to the discipline of Service that we will be seeking to incorporate into our lives today. If we will learn the discipline of service, our relationships, our work and our families will be transformed by freedom. However, if we do not keep our focus on Knowing God through service, we will become Kings and queens of the Chicken yard controlling the pecking order and moral bankers keeping close ledger of all who owe us.
How often do we get it out of focus in our own lives. Do you ever find yourself doing something for another in the hope that they will return the favor? You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. One good turn deserves another. But when we start keeping records of the nice things we have done, we soon become accountants with out of balance records. We can see what we do for others, but we almost always miss what others do for us. When we look at our long list of good deeds, we look pretty good. When we think about all we have done for others, we think we are pretty high on the pecking order. And then we hear the words of Jesus.
One of the Disciples’ favorite topics, it would seem from the gospels, was, “Which of us is the greatest?” At least 6 times, the argument is recorded. In the passage we just read, James and John had come to Jesus to ask that they be given the places of greatness in the Kingdom. Jesus’ response this time, was the same as his response every time they tried it. Jesus replied, “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” Throughout his ministry he had said the same thing. “If you want the best, then choose the least. If you want to live, you must die.” It seems like they never got it. And so on the night he was to be arrested, Jesus did something that blew their minds.
As they sat around the table eating the Passover, Jesus arose and took a towel and a basin of water and gently, quietly, and without comment washed the feet of his disciples. This was a task that was always assigned to the new slave in the house. Ted Marinan is the new pastor in the North Area and so he gets the “privilege” preaching at the NA Advent Service in two weeks. Most pastors don’t want that task, so it goes to the new kid on the block. The same was true with the job of washing feet. Have you ever mowed the grass in your bare feet? If so, then you have some idea how dirty the disciples feet may have been.
Jesus carried out this task, insisting that they all let him do it, then he said, "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.” This is a picture of service as a discipline. It was not done to indenture the disciples, it was done out of love. It was not done to establish a pecking order of greatest to least, it was done out of love.
Love is the test of service. The discipline of service frees us to say “No!” to the world’s games of promotion and authority. Children understand this, check out these definitions of love provided by children from Jerry De Luca:
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay."
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Yes, to love is to serve. And to truly serve, is to love. Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, writes:
Pastors often hear, "I work my fingers to the bone in this church, and what thanks do I get?" Is that the way it is? Your service was for thanks? Are you in your right mind? Servanthood begins where gratitude and applause ends.”
Keller is right. We practice service, when there is no thanks. We practice service when there is no power gained. Paul told slaves to serve their masters as they would serve Christ. Inother words, the only smile we are seeking is the Father’s. And as we practice service, it will become a part of us.
In Matt. 25, in one of the most convicting pictures of the judgement, Jesus tells us that one day he will divide the sheep from the goats and he will welcome those who have fed him and clothed him, and visited him, and refreshed him. And those he welcomes will be shocked because they never saw him hungry or naked or lonely or thirsty. And Jesus will tell them that when they cared for others, they were caring for him. Notice the surprise in them. We want to think we can get past the surprise by doing things for others, so we can deserve his welcome on that day. But they are surprised, and the reason they are surprised is because their service was a natural part of them. They had practiced caring for others so much that it became second nature.
There is a difference between true service and self righteous service. SR service requires applause, true service avoids the lights. SR service picks and chooses who to serve, true service is free to serve all, no matter what the feedback will be. SR service reaches out when it feels moved to help, true service does not wait for the feeling, but serves because there is a need. SR service must give, true service can accept service from the hands of others.
To truly serve, is to put God first. What will this mean to put God first? J.I. Packer says it means this much at least. The 101 things I have to do each day and the 101 demands on me which I know I must try to meet will all be approached as ventures of loving service to him, and I shall do the best I can in everything for his sake.
So how do we do it? We begin with the discovery that one of the most significant acts of service we can offer is active helpfulness. These are the small tasks we encounter. Great jobs call for sacrifice for a moment, small tasks call for constant sacrifice of our time and energy. The small acts of service are the actions that will discipline our lives to live for others. So we begin with service of helpfulness.
There is also the service of guarding the reputation of others. This is not a large task, but it is critical in the body of Christ. If we will serve one another by protecting each other from slander and gossip, the spirit of the church will be transformed. Paul said, “Speak evil of no one.” Sometimes we clothe our gossip in religious language and call it prayer requests or sharing a concern, but it is just as deadly as if we were talking over a fence. To serve the reputation of others is to refuse to participate in slander and gossip.
There is a service of being served. It is an act of service to let others minister to us. Peter was called to serve by letting Jesus wash his feet. So often our pride stands in the way of letting others serve us. But this is an act of submission that is vital to the body of Christ. Often we are willing to help others, but we are unwilling to let them help us. This is an act of arrogance that we need to confess. When we accept the service of others we are serving Christ.
There is the service of Listening. When our brothers and sisters are in need, often the greatest gift we can give is active listening. Demonstrating that we care through the gift of our time and attention. Dietriech Bonnhoeffer said, “anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but only for himself and for his follies.
There is the service of honoring the dignity of others. Common courtesy is one way we do this. We recognize the dignity and worth of others when we serve through courtesy. Sharing words of thanks and respect strengthen the Body of Christ.
And there is the service of sharing God’s truth with others. This must be done with humility and grace. And we must be willing to receive the word that God would send through even the smallest member of his Body. Many of your have spoken God’s word to me when you have encouraged me, or corrected me, or simply reminded me that Jesus loves us and that he is coming again.
Whatever, the service, remember that you are serving Christ. Whether there is any other thanks or not, if you are serving him, it will not go unnoticed.
Joseph Aldrich writes, “In my neighborhood is a neat couple across the street who are a key couple. When they trust the Lord, the gospel is going down a web of relationships, and I think there'll be fifteen or twenty couples who'll trust the Lord within a very short period of time. This has been our experience.
“The husband, Phil, travels a lot. He's a sales representative, and he's on the road a lot. So somehow I've ended up being Mr. Fix-It. I've been over there to unplug toilets. Twice I've been over there to fix their garbage disposal unit. I wish they'd get a new one! The last time I was there, it was such a bad deal that I had to take all the molding out around the dishwasher and pull the dishwasher out. I was lying there on my back, all wet, with water and food all over everything.
“Right in the middle of it, I started laughing out loud. I just said, "God, you've got an incredible sense of humor, because I'd been praying for opportunities to serve, and you're sure giving them to me. I wish sometimes you'd keep your big fist out of that garbage disposal unit." I knew good and well why it was clogged up. Servants have no rights.”
And that is where we leave it today. Do you know the joy of serving Jesus? Our world wants to set up a pecking order, Jesus tells us to go to the end of the line. The world wants us to set up a ledger to keep the score even, Jesus tells us to serve in secret. The world’s way will lead to competition, disappointment, anger and fear, Jesus’ way will lead to freedom, and peace. Who do you serve?
