A few days ago I received a letter with the following question: “What is it for you to serve God?” I understand it to mean: the true and living God, i.e., the God revealed in the Scriptures. A clear understanding of what serving God entails is important, all the more due to the fact that He is the only one we should serve (Matthew 4:8,10). If someone objects this statement suffice it to say that he who serves Him obeys Him, and he who obeys Him loves his neighbor as himself. Consequently he will care about the needs of others.
As I proceed I will attempt to keep my answer as clear and complete as possible, yet brief and to the point.
The servant is a doer of God’s will
The person who serves God acceptably can be defined as a doer of God’s will. Hence all those who are truly doing God’s will are serving Him in truth (1 Samuel 12:24).
The author of Hebrew makes clear that this sort of service can be carried out only by those upon whom the grace of God dwells:
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28).
The same idea is expressed in the following chapter:
Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20,21).
These two portions of Scriptures, among others, state clearly that no acceptable service is possible without the inner working of the Spirit of grace. This has always been and always will be the fundamental truth upon which the life of God’s servant unfolds.
The servant is dedicated
The most genuine characteristic of a servant of God is his dedication. His heart is not divided. And it is not divided because the hand of God is on him to give him singleness of heart:
Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 30:12).
Surely without this singularity it would be impossible to serve God acceptably. For “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other … (Luke 16:13). This principle is as absolute as evident.
The servant is a follower
Another practice characterizing God’s servant is that he follows his Master, that is, he walks on the same path, near enough to hear His voice, discern it and carry on His instructions.
If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him my Father will honor” (John 12:26).
This is the first thing the servant must settle: Whom is he going to follow? “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). Therefore one must make up his mind, for a double-minded person is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). No wonder Jesus sets the conditions from the beginning: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Only when the Lord has been chosen as the Master to follow can service begin.
Two kinds of service
Another important factor to consider is that the person who serves God acceptably will face two types of service. The first kind will be carried out of his own free will (because he wants to), the second by obligation (because he has to). The romantic picture of a servant doing everything without being ever obliged is nowhere seen in the Scriptures. Even Jesus at times obeyed out of compulsion: “Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). In His humanity His will contrasted at times with His Father’s will. Yet because He was a Servant He always yielded to His Father, and yielded from the heart in love and trust.
These two kinds of service are well defined in Philemon 14:
But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.”
Paul refers to them also in 1 Corinthians 9:16,17 “For if I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.”
I was asked in the past which one of these two services blessed God the most? Or, which one is the most beautiful? To answer these questions both types of service will have to be considered.
Considering the two types
In 1st Chronicles 29:9 we read: “Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the Lord; and king David also rejoiced greatly.” To serve God of one’s own free will is a wonderful experience and generates joy, not only in the servant but also in the godly witnesses observing him.
To do something when we don’t have to, but want to, is surely praiseworthy. Happily, we all face such opportunities daily. Added to it, this sort of service carries a reward in its bosom: “For if I do it willingly, I have a reward; …” (1st Cor. 9:17). What is the reward? Actually there are many of them but here Paul refers to the admiration coming from the observers (see Matthew 6:2,5 & 16). I think all of us have experienced how people appreciate us when we offer to wash the dishes for them, sweep the floor, or bring out the garbage, and this, when we don’t have to do any of it. Such service puts a crown on the volunteer’s head. It is beautiful, useful, and consequently highly regarded.
On the other side we have what is being imposed. Here the servant must do it by obligation. Consequently the person obtains less glory from it. This is precisely the point Paul is making in 1 Corinthians 9:16–18. In verse sixteen he says:
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”
As we all know, the mother who washes the dishes of her family is hardly noticed compared to the guest who volunteers to do them. The latter is eulogized while the former is nearly ignored. So Paul exclaims: “What is my reward then?” This raw reality truly tests the heart. If the motives of the servant are self-centered he will easily complain and grudge, and his heart will not be in what he is doing. But if the servant serves in reverence and godly fear (Hebrews 12:28) he will do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23). This, and nothing less, is what God expects of His servants.
Answering the questions
So which kind of service is the most pleasing to God? If they are done from the heart both types please Him and both types are beautiful. Which of the two is the most noticed? As we have seen, the first one. Which of the two is the most virtuous? The second, but only if it is done from the heart.
Why is it so? Because it doesn’t put a crown on the servant’s head. Consider the words of Jesus when He says:
Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do’” (Luke 17:9,10).
This is a real blow for the praise-seeker, a blow that blew many away. No wonder most of us have observed people offering themselves willingly for this or that, and yet, having problems to do what they are commanded, or doing it while grumbling and grousing, or worse, flatly refusing to do it.
Conclusion
So what is it for me to serve God? It is first a privilege, then an entrusted duty. It is the most fulfilling position a human being can occupy. It revives the soul, quickens the spirit, and elevates the mind.
