The second decade of the twenty-first century has officially begun. What a wonder it would be if, a decade from now, we looked back upon the next ten years as the “decade of service”. We, individual believers in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord as well as the Church catholic, have an opportunity to show that the previous decades of me-ism and decadent opulence within Western Christianity were an anomaly. We have an opportunity to return the servant and service to others first dynamic that has been a hallmark of the Church for centuries.
Listen, I am not naive enough to believe that the history of the Church hasn’t before been marred by TBN style self-indulgence, or that similar forays into prosperity focused gospel ramblings will not occur in the future. What I am saying is that the overwhelming intrusion of such teachings into the mainstream of the Church in recent history is alarming, and the tide must be stemmed.
Is the gospel message inward-focused? No. Is the gospel me-focused? No. The gospel calls me to deny my desires in order to be used to fulfill God’s ultimate desire, the redemption of his creation. The gospel compels me to think of myself after I have considered the needs of those around me, to love (actively) whenever the opportunity avails itself. Our Lord Jesus was the penultimate example of a servant and leader in action. We are called Christians because of our desire to emulate his faith and actions, and fulfill his mission. If these statements are true, and I believe them to be, then we should move to make ourselves stellar examples of what it means to “serve and not be served.”