A REAL Man is a Servant

...Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant ... For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:43, 45

Selfishness vs. Servanthood...

When this battle is waged in our lives, do we side with service or selfishness....?

We major in "me." We have this me, my, mine attitude in our lives and forget about others. We want someone else to serve us. We don't want to serve anyone else because we think of servants as weaker than, less than, or below us.

But Jesus Christ, God's only son, came to this earth to blow the doors off of our pre-determined ideas of servanthood. He taught us that serving is the way to freedom, the way to God's heart. And he modeled true servanthood by performing the ultimate act of service. -He gave His life for Us.

When we accept what he did for us, when we bow the knee to Christ, we become armed in the battle against selfishness. God instills in us the character quality that Jesus showed every day of his life - servanthood.

For more information about this and other subjects, visit the Ed Young Ministries website: www.edyoung.org

Today's lesson is taken from a e-mail devotional I received from Ed Young ministries yesterday. It was very timely because my wife and I have just been discussing this very issue with our 13 year old.

I can't say when I developed a servant's heart. I think my mom sorta groomed me from when I was a little boy to be a 'caretaker' of sorts. -Although she didn't explain the spiritual component to it, I believe that God's hand was shaping my life and destiny back then. And now it is my job as a daddy and a MAN to pass those skills along to my kids and model this behavior for the world.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord God, thank You for YOUR act of service. What You did gives us eternal life..! Father I want to be more like You. I want to live a sacrificial life for my family. Help me to be more self-less. Help me to always put You First, Others Second, and Myself Last. Father, I pray that You help me instill these character traits in my own children. And with that in mind I lift up my boys Connor and Elijah this morning.

Father I see raising them as my greatest responsibility. Lord I pray for my sweet wife too. Help me to help her more. Give me wisdom and understanding to do the things that will help her the most.

Father You have blessed me tremendously. Thank You, my King. I give this day to You, Jesus. I love You. And in Your Holy Name I Pray,

Amen.