I recently stopped by a nationally-known ice cream shop for a vanilla ice cream cone with their signature curly-Q top. I could hardly wait to enjoy my treat, freshly dispensed from the soft-serve machine and served on a crisp wafer cone. I didn’t even mind the lengthy wait in the drive-thru line. But when I pulled up to the window to receive it, my “small” cone (definitely not big enough to be a medium) had nearly melted from being served up 5 minutes before by the eager staff, while I’d sat waiting in the drive-thru line.
I enjoy frozen treats when they are still frozen, but I told myself to get over it, because the pleasures of this life can never fully satisfy, and to be thankful for what I was about to receive.
I proceeded to enjoy the small portion of vanilla ice cream swirled atop my wafer cone. But, when I got down to the cone, I bit into a stale wafer cone! Are you kidding me? Overpriced, overexposed to room temp, and OLD. Not good.
We live in a society that is fueled by consumerism and humanism. We’re bombarded with the world’s exhortations to “have it our way,” to “treat ourselves,” to do whatever it takes to get ahead and stay ahead of others, to find the necessary paths to our own happiness and pleasure and stick to them, to expect others to serve us and cater to our every need (after all, WE are the customers and THEY are the customer service reps), to consume our way to the fulfillment of your American dream. The world tells us that we are called to be served.
But Jesus tells us that in His kingdom (which is not of this world), we are called not to be served, but to be servants of all.
It’s no wonder that consumerism has infected our churches since we who make up the church have also been infected by this virus of selfishness. We haven’t just been exposed to it since we came into the world; we were born with it coursing through our veins. Sin’s nature has infected all of mankind. And only a spotless, selfless, slaughtered Lamb can cure us of this deadly disease.
Thanks be to God for sending Jesus Christ to carry our sins upon Himself, nailed with our sins to the cross we deserved to die upon. Praise God for accepting this perfect sacrifice for our sins and dropping the charges against us, forgiving us and imputing His righteousness to us. All glory to God for leaving His heavenly throne, discarding His kingly rights and taking on the very nature of a servant, becoming a humble slave to wash away the filthy, guilty stains of sinful man.
Jesus is not only the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, He is not just our Savior and Substitute, He is also our example. As He forgave, we are to forgive. As He washed the disciples’ feet, we are to wash the feet of our brothers and sisters. As He gave up His rights, we are to give up our rights. As He laid down His life for His friends, we are to lay down our lives for our friends. As He came not to be served but to serve mankind and give His life as a ransom for many, we are called to be servants of all.
Consider the attitude of your heart as you enter your local place of worship. Are you seeking to be served by hospitable greeters serving up the perfect brew of coffee, or hoping to be emotionally stimulated by your preferred songs arranged with your ideal musical mixes and perfectly performed by your church worship team? Or, are you expecting your pastor to feed you just the right portions of God’s Word and only to your taste (not too fluffy, not too firm, not too sweet, not to salty)?
Or is your heart stirred by the example of Christ? Are you seeking to serve others as you have been humbly served by Christ?
At times I have found myself being way too picky and giving myself far too preferential treatment when I gather to worship with the church. My motives are less likely to conform to the way of Christ and more likely to be colored by my own preferences.
What are we sinful consumers to do? We are to receive the kindness of the Lord which calls and leads us to repentance. We are to repent of our selfishness and turn to follow the way of Christ, the perfect Suffering Servant of All.
- There we will find and experience His salvation and His strength made perfect in our weakness.
- Then we will be able to serve others with the strength that He provides for the glory of His beautiful name and for our good and gladness.
And as we ignore the world’s exhortations to please ourselves and instead follow the selfless way of Christ, we’ll hear God’s call to lay aside our consumerism and then taste and see that He is the ultimate goodness and pleasure we long to experience. Unlike worldly pleasures, God fulfills His promise that those who hope in Him will never be disappointed.
“Don’t be selfish. Don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” – Philippians 2:3-8
“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:42-45
“Since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master.” – John 13:16
“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” – John 15:12-13
“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!” – Psalm 34:8
- Photo above by Alex Proimos, used via Creative Commons license
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