The earthly man’s perspective is not the perspective of our Lord. Man wants to get ahead, wants to work hard and build one’s own dream. And this mentality of being a self-made man, a hard man, a person of prominence, is always threatening to creep into the Church—and does creep in! But Christ calls his followers to reject the ways of the world and the means of the world, and instead adopt his posture of service and humility.

We live in a time where it is thought that strength must be shown for it to be “strength”. Arguing online is the norm. Brash politicians are lauded. The bolder the talking head, the better. For men to be men they must be strong and commanding. Pastors must be firm and charismatic leaders if they are to generate a following. And for the church to “truly” stand against the rising tide of the culture, it must be boisterously staunch and outwardly superior to combat the evil of our day. But is this what Christ would have for us to demonstrate that we stand with Jesus—is this what the Lord had in mind when he called his followers to be like him?

Biblical Testimony

Throughout the whole of the scriptures, God describes himself as the God who cares for ones who cannot care for themselves. A small sampling is all that is needed to demonstrate this point. Psalm 10:17-18, “O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted…to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed”, Psalm 72:12-14 “he delivers the needy when he calls…He has pity on the weak and the needy, From oppression and violence he redeems their life”. In Ezekiel 34, when God lambasts the false shepherds of his people, he condemns them for caring only for themselves and for, horrifically, feeding themselves on the Lord’s sheep! To such an inversion of God’s desires, he promises to care for his sheep himself (vs. 15) and to set up the one true Shepherd in the line of David (vs. 23). This shepherd is One after the Lord’s own heart (Jer. 3:15) who will not take advantage of those under his care, but feed and provide for them. This is the very tender compassion of our God—this is how he chooses to make himself known! Our God is a God who uses his strength to serve.

The Worldly Alternative

The opposite is true of the world. Worldly men, as described in the scriptures, think only of themselves. Jude 12 says they “shepherd only themselves.” Philippians 3:19 captures the selfishness of these enemies of the cross as those “whose god is their bellies”—they only care about satisfying self. And Jesus said in Matthew 20:25-26: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” Jesus distinctly calls us to fly in the face of the world’s typical standard of “always look out for number one.” The world’s default perspective is who else is going to look out for me, if I don’t? In the corporate world, climb the dogpile faster than the competition. In the financial sector, make as much as possible—personal greed is the ticket! In social settings, put others down so you look good. In any sphere of authority, make sure people are serving you.

Read More