A Servant to All

A Servant to All

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more . . . .” 1 Cor. 9:19.

There are many different reasons why people become servants. The fear of man causes many people to become servants. They depend on someone, and, being afraid to fall out of that person’s favor, they literally crawl to him. The adulation of man also causes people to become servants. They want to be in someone’s good graces, and so they crawl before him to gain his favor. Paul was not like that. He was free from all men. He feared no man, neither did he seek honor from anyone. Yet He voluntarily made himself a servant to all that he might win the more.

Only when we are free from all men can we serve them for their salvation. Consequently, there is a time to become free from all men and a time to become a servant to all. We can be sure that we will be misunderstood during the time when we make ourselves free. Before we were considered kind and pleasant, but now we are regarded as hard and unpleasant. If you seek the praise of men, you will never manage to become free, and that is surely the reason why there are so few servants of Christ. Gal. 1:10. Here we need to close our eyes and ears to everything and follow the Spirit’s leading within. When people misunderstand us, they will also reject by them. However, God can use us when we are separated and rejected. Joseph was someone who was rejected, yet he was made prince over Egypt and was used by God to keep his father and brothers alive. Moses was rejected, and as such he was used to lead his people out of Egypt. David was hated by his brothers on the day he saved them from Goliath (1 Sam. 17:28-29), and he lived as a fugitive until the day when he became king over Israel. Jesus Himself was a stone rejected by men, yet God made Him the chief cornerstone.

The person who cannot bear being humbled, rejected, and hated cannot bear being exalted, respected, and honored.

The first thing God said to Abraham was, “Go out from your land, your family, and your father’s house.” This is also the first thing the Spirit leads us to. Taken out from among men and separated, He can mold us into instruments for Himself—instruments that are not influenced by—and are free from—all men, resting in God’s hand, as easily movable as the wind when it comes to obeying the Spirit’s workings. Only then can we be a servant to all, be they high or low, rich or poor, pleasant or unpleasant, so that God can be honored in everything.