Jesus<\/a>-y, yes?<\/p>\n\u201cThe Son of Man came to serve (<\/b>\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03bd\u03ad\u03c9)<\/b>, not to be served.\u201d \u2013Matthew 20:28<\/b><\/p>\n
Well, lately, I\u2019m not so sure. Because there\u2019s something that feeds my ego when I help. So I\u2019ve been thinking about the context of this passage. Two of the disciples get their mama (at least we assume this by the reaction of the other ten) to ask Jesus if they can be in power when Jesus becomes King.<\/p>\n
Jesus responds this way: \u201cYou know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,\u00a0<\/sup>and whoever wants to be first must be your slave\u2014\u00a0<\/sup>just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\nIn a culture that long has the social stigma of slavery, the difference between serving<\/strong><\/em> someone and being a servant<\/strong><\/em> can be lost on us. I\u2019ll speak for myself when I say, I want to have my cake and eat it too. I want to serve the slaves but I don\u2019t want to be one.<\/strong><\/em> I want to help the less fortunate but I don\u2019t want to be less fortunate. Serving takes my time and energy but being a servant takes my identity and social status.<\/strong><\/p>\n