Category: Articles

SS&S – Those Who Serve

by Rick Shrader

All believers would agree that serving is a biblical characteristic of a Christian. “Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph 6:6). There are about a half dozen Greek words for servant, the most common being the bond-servant (as here) harking back to the Old Testament bond-slave. Other words can mean a house-servant, a child-servant, a minister, a deacon, or even an under-rower in a sailing vessel. All of them picture one who is surrendered to a master but ultimately to the Lord Jesus Christ.

We often speak of serving one another as believers and church members, or even serving our fellow man. All of these are good but they are all done as part of our service to the Lord. “You are bought with a price; do not become the slaves of men” (1 Cor 7:23). Since serving is a common subject and properly pictured as a part of humility and self-sacrifice, we must be careful that our service does not become a mere show. Paul warned of a “false humility” of those who worship angels, being “vainly puffed up” in that act of serving (Col 2:18). Christians can fall into the same trap.

There are those who only want to be served. They look for a church that meets all of their needs and lavishes them with praise. They enjoy the ministries and facilities that others have provided but seldom if ever consider what they themselves can do to serve or minister to others. This may be a new believer who doesn’t know what he should be doing as a Christian, and this is often the picture of an unbeliever who only thinks the church is there as a service agency.

There are those who only want to be seen as serving. Jesus said, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them” (Matt 6:1). Jesus also used these same words about those who pray and those who fast merely to be seen by others. Sometimes we make a list of things that can be done to serve others and we check off those things that make us appear as humble servants. Perhaps it is necessary at first to be motivated by our selfishness to serve others but that false humility should quickly be put aside as we learn that serving is not for the purpose of being seen.

There are those who only want to be sitting after having served a long time themselves. Some good people feel it is time for them to sit and be served because they have earned it. This is where we older saints have to be careful. We truly have served the Lord and others for years and we are tired or perhaps we are physically unable to do what we once could. Yes, there are some great servants whose body is so worn out from a life of service that the simple tasks of life are difficult. Praise God for them! And yet, wouldn’t you love to have that servant praying for you? There is always a service to be done.

There are those, and we should all aspire to be, who just want to be stewards of God and faithful servants. There is a price to be paid for it. True servanthood does not seek to be seen or praised and seldom is; it gives itself to requests from others when it has as many needs for itself; it accepts constant correction and reproof from those who need correction themselves; it makes itself available to everyone except itself; its light is always on and its door open 24/7 and its phone is never on silent; its life is not its own. Paul summarized it as, “love never fails” (1 Cor 13:8).

I think there are three stages in life that match this description. The first is the toddler stage. A toddler is the one at home with the least say-so. He must sleep, eat, play, bathe, dress, and all the rest at someone else’s command. The second is the mother stage. Though she is the toddler’s boss, she is also his servant. She has given up hours of sleep; has fulfilled years of being the house servant; has been the cook, the launderer, the educator, the referee; and has sacrificed her youthful self for a household of others.

The third is the senior saint stage. Paul (“the aged”) said, “I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved” (2 Cor 12:15). The senior stage is not pretty. It has few of those desirable earthly qualities and so is often ignored. Ah, then this is the time for true service! This is the time to spend and be spent, to love and not be loved, to pray, to work, to worship, to give, with no time for reward. Why? Because true service never fails, not in this life nor in the life to come.

Respecting Ourselves as Elders

by Rick Shrader

The writer of Proverbs said, “The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness” (Prov. 16:31). Also, “The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray head” (Prov. 20:29). The Bible is clear about respecting our elders, i.e., the older men and women among us. “Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise” (Eph. 6:2); “You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD” (Lev. 19:32).

We have heard all our lives, and correctly so, that we should treat our older people with respect. The Bible is plain. We also have preached to and scolded the young people when they fail to do this. Obviously, every generation has to work at respecting its elders, or else why would we have these admonitions from thousands of years ago? Paul lists disobedience to parents” among the worst sins (2 Tim. 3:2; Rom. 1:30). We have also read dozens or hundreds of examples of disrespect in our own generation and there is no doubt we live in an unprecedented time of disdain for authority.

I am asking in this article, however, if elders today don’t display their own level of disrespect toward old age, and if we aren’t as guilty of those biblical admonitions as anyone else. I don’t mean that we can’t laugh at ourselves. In fact, I enjoy those “oldies” jokes as much as the next person. I believe that older people are much better off with a sense of humor about their age rather than taking offense, because it isn’t going to change and you can’t fight it. So it is not that seniors laugh at themselves or truly struggle with the pains of older age, but that we sometimes fight against God Himself over the experience of old age. We just don’t like it and wish it were different. Here are a few thoughts.

Old age is a time appointed, we shouldn’t fight it. Death is appointed to all people because of sin (Heb. 9:27). Moses wrote that God returns us to dust after 70 or 80 years because of our sin and it is only afterwards that we can “fly way” (Psa. 90:10). The marks of age are the pointers in that direction and it is God’s will that we go that way. If we think correctly, we should honor it.

Old age brings burdens and these are our stewardship. Again Moses said, “Their boast is labor and sorrow” (Psa. 90:10); Solomon said, “I have no pleasure in them” (Ecc. 12:1). David said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me” (Psa. 23:4). I know this is a tough assignment but this is the greatest time of testimony in your life. It witnesses to your faith in Christ’s resurrection and your confidence in eternal life.

Old age is ridiculed by youth but this is the time of teaching and discipleship. We live with those aging maladies: we can’t see as clearly anymore, we can’t always hear what some are saying, we can’t recall details as sharply as we once did. This is the whole subject of Ecclesiastes 12. Sure, we feel the sympathetic response of some as if they are sorry for us. Shouldn’t we rather say with Solomon, remember your own Creator while you are young because these days are coming on you as well? (Ecc. 12:1). The conclusion of that chapter is that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments (vs. 13). Let’s show that our older age has increased our ability to do that!

Old age brings good and bad and we should accentuate the good. Besides all of those negative things that come with aging, there are many more positive things that we didn’t pay attention to before. This is hard, but don’t wallow in the difficulties as if “nobody knows the trouble I see.” Everyone knows them, or will. Be the exception to that rule. You are wiser and godly; you have strength to overcome these hardships; you have perspective on life that the younger ones can’t have; you even have time to devote to God that a busy life didn’t afford you. Say with Moses, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psa. 90:12).

I noticed that when Moses and Aaron were leading the nation out of Egypt that they constantly consulted the elders (Exod. 3:16, 18; 4:29; 12:21; et al). Rehoboam failed to do this (1 Kings 12) and Jeremiah lamented that destruction had come to Jerusalem because the “elders were not respected,” nor “shown favor” (Lam. 4:16; 5:12). Generations before may be guilty of this but let’s not encourage it ourselves.