What Is the Mindset of a Faithful Servant?

My husband's first Bible was given to him by his grandmother when he was six. When she gave Dan the Bible, his grandmother took him aside and gave him some important advice. "Dan, pay close attention to the words in red because they are the words of Jesus. And what Jesus says matters most." 

That advice was true then and is still true today—the words of Jesus matter most. And our lives will be better when we live what Jesus says. 

Jesus is worth paying attention to. Jesus is worth following. Our lives are better when we live and obey what Jesus says. 

Jesus' words call us to a life of service. Service is a big deal to Jesus. Jesus told us He did not come to be served but to serve others. How can we embrace that life of service? How can we live with a "how can I serve" mentality? 

Our truth source is the Bible. One of the most powerful passages on service is in Luke 10, the story of the Good Samaritan. 

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: 'Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus replied, 'What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?' 

The man answered, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 'Right!' Jesus told him. 'Do this, and you will live!' 

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' 

When the man asked Jesus who his neighbor was, he was asking Jesus to narrow it down, to be more specific. He is asking for a minimalist answer. Who do I have to include as my neighbor? Who do I have to love? 

Jesus blows the man's mind when he defines what it means to be a neighbor. 

Jesus replied with a story: 'A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance, a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. 

Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, 'Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here. 

'Now, which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?' Jesus asked. The man replied The one who showed him mercy.' Then Jesus said, 'Yes, now go and do the same.' 

What is the mindset of a faithful servant? 

First: Expect Interruptions

All three men in the story of the Good Samaritan had other plans for the day. The priest had plans and was so busy that he could not be interrupted. He saw the man beaten and bleeding beside the road and passed him. The churchgoer had plans, too. He was probably on his way to church or to hang out with his church friends. Or maybe he was on his way to do his church activities. He saw the man beaten and bleeding beside the road and passed him. 

The Samaritan also had plans. He was probably on his way home from a business trip. He might also have been in a hurry to escape the country where he was not welcomed. He saw the man beaten and bleeding beside the road. The Samaritan stopped and helped the man. 

The opportunity to serve others often comes at an inconvenient time. Have you ever noticed that? 

I would help – but I am busy.

I would help – but I have another commitment.

I would help – but I have things to do. 

The Samaritan is the guy no one would stop and help. 

The priest's job says, "stop and help."

The church attender's theology says, "stop and help."

The Samaritan's heritage and history say, "don't stop and help."

Serving others will interrupt your life. 

Second: Expect Sacrifice

Serving others does come with a price tag and will always cost you something. What did it cost the Samaritan to help the man who had been robbed and beaten?

-Two days of his time.

-His cleanliness since the wounded man was dirty and bleeding.

-His transportation. The injured man rode the donkey while the Samaritan walked.

-His money since he paid for the man's care in advance.

-His agenda since what he had planned those two days he spent caring for the wounded man was lost. 

The reality is that we don't serve because we don't want to sacrifice. So one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is hidden in 2 Samuel 24. 

King David is on the outs with God. Trying to get back in God's good graces, he feels led to build an altar to have a place to worship God. A local farmer named Araunah offers the king the land and the materials to make the altar for free. Why? King David refuses with these words: 

"I will not present offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing." 2 Samuel 24:24 

Sacrifice means giving up something of value for something or someone you value more. 

If you are going to serve others, expect interruptions.

If you are going to serve others, expect sacrifices. 

Third: Expect Judgment

When you invest your time and energy in serving someone, there will be judgment. Someone will say, "you are wasting your time and money on that person." But there is some behind-the-scenes judgment going on in this story. 

-The thieves judged the man they robbed as undeserving of what he had.

-The priest judged the man he refused to help as not worth his time.

-The church attender judged the man he passed by as not worth the effort.

-They would all judge the Samaritan to be out of his mind for helping the wounded man. 

Don't miss where this story started. Jesus is teaching. Someone asked, "What is the greatest and most important commandment?" Jesus answered to love God first and love your neighbor second. And then they asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" To answer that question, Jesus tells this story. The story of the good Samaritan. 

We think we should serve those with whom we are already close. Our neighbors. The word "neighbor" comes from two German words which mean "nearby." And that is how we think of the commandment to love our neighbors, those with whom we are already close. But Jesus said that to love our neighbors means much more than that. 

He tells the story of the good Samaritan. And then asks the man who questioned him, "Which one of these loved his neighbor?" So here is the mind-blowing truth. My neighbor is anyone in my path who I have the means to help. 

Wow. That is mind-blowing. So let's go even further. 

Jesus will ask you to serve someone he drops in your path - someone you would not ordinarily be inclined to help. And someone will judge you for it. 

First – expect interruption.

Second – expect sacrifice.

Third – expect judgment. 

Fourth: Expect to Choose

All three people who had a chance to serve in this passage made choices. 

Did the priest choose to care for his church over the bleeding outsider? Did the church attender choose to care for himself over the wounded foreigner? Only the Samaritan – the half-Jew – chose to see the needy man as his neighbor. 

We all choose whom we will serve. 

There is a great verse in Joshua 24:15. Joshua is the leader of his people. They have just moved into their new land and homes, and he reminds them of their choice. 

If you refuse to serve the Lord, choose who you will serve today. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15 

Everyone serves someone. It may be the gods of our past or our culture. We need to serve the God of eternity. We all choose. Some of us choose intentionally, while some choose accidentally, but we all choose. 

Who will you serve? Why will you serve? 

We serve for many reasons. 

We serve to feel better about ourselves. We serve to prove ourselves. We serve to earn community service. We serve in hopes of being repaid. We serve to make our world a better place.  None of which are wrong. But Jesus calls us to a life of sacrificial, non-returned, radical, selfless type of service. Jesus invites us to a different kind of serving. 

There is no greater love than to lay down one's life. John 15:13 

The needs around us can be overwhelming. We can become calloused to all the cries for passion. Sometimes it feels like the "need of the week," or maybe it is the "crisis of the week." Perhaps it is even "opportunity of the week." 

So many hurting people. So many worthy causes. So many crying needs. 

Jesus does not call his followers to be passionate about every opportunity to serve. Instead, Christ calls his followers to be passionate about helping someone. 

The last three years in our country have been a constant parade of crises—all kinds of causes for getting behind and all sorts of needs. We see endless opportunities to get involved and to serve. We cannot help everyone and keep our sanity. But, we must serve someone to keep our identity in Christ.