Authentic Service

     It is credited that Abraham Lincoln once said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”  What do you think when I mention the names Enron, Ernie Madoff or Tiger Woods?  It is not transparency and authenticity is it.  Once you have ruined a name it is hard to clean it off and once you have tarnished a brand it is hard to get back buyers.  It takes work to create a good name and a selling brand, but it is very easy to damage.

     Humility is a trait I don’t think many of us understand today.  I am not talking about self-humiliation or false humility since they are just non-authentic and really nothing more than pride.  True humility is both transparent and authentic because it is simply about being who you are in the hands of God.  Moses is a good example of true humility. He was obedient to leave everything behind and suffer the ridicule of that decision.  It was on the backside of the desert that Moses came to terms with himself and the burning bush was the turning point.  It was testified about Moses that he was willing to endure affliction with the people of God than the passing pleasures of sin.  

     Moses surrendered to the call of God and was willing to do whatever it took to get himself into the place of purpose.  However, the burning bush was the commissioning and filling of that surrendered heart. If you don’t have your burning bush experience before you become a leader then you will follow the fate of so many other fake and fallen leaders.  It is the fire of God that produces holiness, transparency and authenticity, which are the traits that will keep you kneeling in humility when the winds of trials come your way. If you don’t build on the foundation of humility then you will eventually crack under the pressure of keeping it all together in your own strength.  Humility realizes that without the grace of God then nothing stands.

     The pathway of humility is a pathway of brokenness.  I am not speaking of destruction, but a heart that has been humbled, surrendered and dedicated to the Father. Just after the upper room of fellowship with His disciples Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and it was here where He were completely surrendered to the will of the Father.    

      It is interesting to note that this is the same night in which Jesus partook of His last Passover with His disciples.  Just as they finished the Passover and right before they entered the Garden, there arose a heated discussion about who was the greatest among them. 

     On the night of the Passover, Jesus gave a clear discourse on the difference between being selfish ambition and laying down our lives to serve.  It is not the self-serving who are great in the kingdom but, those who pour out their lives to serve others.  James describes the one who has selfish ambition as someone who has given him or herself over to demonic wisdom (James 3:13-16).  When we are driven by demonic wisdom then it will always result in causing jealousy and strife. However, the wisdom flowing down from the Holy Spirit will bring unity of heart, which will produce an overflow of peace and the ability to work as a team member creating something you could not create on your own.  

Service has to be the foundation of whatever we are building since it is the way of the kingdom of God.   How to develop authentic service? :

• Surrender to the call of God and your identity in Christ.
• Don’t try and copy others, but have confidence in your own calling.
• Stay honest with yourself and be transparent with others while using wisdom as your guide.
• Strive to have the heart of a servant helping others succeed.

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