Freed To Serve

Freed To Serve When I was a college student in Baltimore, Maryland, my best friend lived with his grandmother in a stately mansion near the campus. Among her servants was an elderly gentleman whose parents had been slaves of her family before Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation set them free. When he told me this, I asked why he chose to serve the family who had kept his parents as slaves. He paraphrased Exodus 21:5 with his answer: “My folks loved the family so much, when they were free to go they chose to stay.” I said that I could understand that choice for his parents, but not for him, when he could have done so many other things with his life. He admitted that he had considered leaving as he was growing up, but decided to remain a servant: his master was kind, his living quarters were comfortable, the food and care provided for his family were excellent. Where else could he get all this – and love besides! He said: “The good Lord already blessed me with all the things others were striving to get. All I had to do was be a servant. I didn’t deserve this, yet it’s mine to enjoy.” The words of this white-haired gentleman came back to me after all these years, as I was considering what the Bible says about the servant character of Christ, and about our becoming servants. I also remembered his answer to another question: “What does it take to be a good servant?” His answer was as profound as it was simple: “Just do whatever the master says.” When I asked where he learned that lesson, he answered without hesitation, “From my parents and the Bible.” While there is such a temptation to chase after fame and fortune, we might take a lesson from this servant. The life he chose was a real example of the blessing of servanthood: “Whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mt. 20:27-28). I hope this month’s features will help you become a better servant. By Larry Ondrejack