March 20 - No Selfish Ambitions for Bond-Servants

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:3-7  

Servanthood seems so far removed from our culture today. During the early Biblical times slavery was considered permissible for people captured during wars. Leviticus 25:39-55 tells us about how God expected the slaves and servant of that time to be treated. The Jewish people were to look out for each other—to care for their brothers and rescue them from slavery situations, treating them as servants and releasing them in the year of Jubilee. The Jubilee year was part of a Sabbath cycle and occurred once every 50 years. They could be a servant for a very short, or a very long time. Bond-servanthood was still occurring during the New Testament era, as we see in 2 Timothy 2:24…The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged….Jesus was that kind of bond-servant. Since He had that characteristic, we should strive to be like that, too. Agreeable, kind, patient and able to teach. Have you looked in the mirror lately? Are those your qualities? I know I sometime struggle with some of those, like being patient when wronged. I must remind myself that it is only myself that I hurt when I don’t forgive (offer patience) if I am wronged and consider this verse in Romans 8:1, Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Then, since God has other things for me to do than wallow in self-pity, I remember Ephesians 2:10 …For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Time to get back to the business of being like Jesus—serving others as He did.

Training Tip – Let each child start keeping a journal of their own, writing or drawing if too young, or having you write a few words for them, to express the way that they have served others today. Pick up small blank notebooks at the dollar store, or make your own simple notepads. 

Lord – Let ______(my child or grandchild) do nothing out of selfish ambition, but in humility consider others better than himself/herself. Let him/her look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others, and let his/her attitude be the same as that of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:3-5).

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.

© 2013 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.