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As a teenager, I had a low
paying, thankless job in a car wash. One day a
man drove his car in bearing a bumper sticker that read, "Jesus
Saves." This man was rude, demanding, and even drove his car around
after
we had washed it and made us -"do it again, right this time." Never a
kind or encouraging word escaped this fellow’s lips. I was not a
Christian then,
but I knew a hypocrite when I saw one, and so I tore the bumper sticker
off of
his car when I was washing it the second time. Needless to say, he was
livid
when he discovered what I did and he spun his tires as he sped off in a
huff.
As an unbeliever, I was put off by an attitude that I have seen in many
Christians who are not representing the love of God that Jesus
displayed.
As a Christian, our
attitude is to be like Christ’s.
Let this
mind
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of
God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no
reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross (Phillipians 2:5-8.
According
to that
scripture, the goal of every born again believer is to think like a
servant,
because that was what Christ was, and he is our example to follow. Are
you
a servant, or do you demand others to serve you?
Some
Christians think that
everyone should be serving them. I have been in restaurants where I saw
Christians berate the servants (waiters, waitresses, etc.) for what
they
considered bad service simply because they did not receive the "royal
treatment." I worked in customer
relations where I witnessed Christians angrily demanding to speak to
the
manager and showing no tolerance for anything less than perfection. Granted, when I spend my time and money at a
restaurant or a department store, I really enjoy it when they seem glad
I am
there and the staff is trained to meet my needs. But
where does this attitude come from that
causes people, and even followers of Christ, to expect everyone to
cater to
their whims and angrily demand satisfaction over what they consider bad
service? Where is the love of Jesus in
that?
Friends,
we are called to
be servants, so why do we treat other servants with such disrespect.
This kind
of attitude leaves a bad taste in the mouths of the ones we treat so
poorly and
is not a testimony for the love and humility of Christ. The One who
allowed
himself to be spat upon, slapped, berated and crucified, was the
greatest King
of all and could have called legions of angels to come and destroy all
those
who treated him with such disrespect. His
mission was: to love, show the tenderness and mercy of God, and even
give up his own life in the process. How much like Christ are we? Do we see ourselves as servants who are
willing to give of ourselves to help someone else see a little bit of
God’s
love, or are we demanding others to serve us and cater to our needs as
if we
were kings?
The
Bible says that we are
Kings, and even joint heirs with Christ, but the attitude of King Jesus
was one
of selflessness, as the Bible states: he
came
to serve, not to be served (Mark 10:45). Also a dispute arose among
them as to
which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and
those
who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you
are not
to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the
youngest,
and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the
one who
is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the
table?
But I am among you as one who serves (Luke 22: 24-27).
Sure,
we all need to
receive ministry, and hopefully we are getting that from our Christian
relationships. Maybe you have some real issues that you need to be
delivered
from and perhaps some real hurts are troubling you and you need to be
set free
on a spiritual and emotional level. Examine yourself and focus on
getting free,
before you go out and step on other people’s feelings again. Get
into God’s
presence and his word, and ask Christ to develop his love and attitude
in you
toward others. Then you could become a royal blessing to this world,
instead of
a royal pain.
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