Sometimes when I step out my front door on a clear night and see the multitude of stars in the sky and the awesome perfection of Yahweh's universe, I yearn for the time when His creation will all be reconciled in perfect unity with our Father. I try to picture what it will be like for all of His children to live in harmony with no disputes, no arguments, and no meaningless divisions over our pet doctrines. As fallen, sinful human beings it's really easy for us to put ourselves first. There is a natural tendency to comfort our own flesh at the expense of others, usually those closest to us. I wonder what it would be like if all of us truly had a servant's heart in all our interaction with others?

To those of you who've accepted Yahweh's Son as your Savior and example in your life I'd like to propose the following. Having the heart of a servant should be really easy for you… at least in concept. Let me quote Philippians 2:1-7.

"If there is therefore any exhortation in Messiah, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, make full my joy, that you be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others. Have this mind in you, which was also in Messiah Yahshua: who, existing in the form of Elohim, counted not the being on an equality with Elohim a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men."

What does that last sentence mean to you, "but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." Paul tells us, "Have this mind in you." Wow! Is that really possible to have the mind of Yahshua in us? Is it possible to empty ourselves and take the form of a servant? Look at what Yahshua Himself said, "[Yahshua] called them together and said, "You 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, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- 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." Matthew 20:25-28 NIV.

So there we have it in our Savior's own words. He came to serve, not to be served. This is the kind of mindset we are supposed to have toward our family, our brethren, and our fellow man. When we enter into our covenant relationship with Yahweh when we are baptized, His Holy Spirit enters us and enables us to take on the character of Yahshua. So at least in concept it should be a simple thing for us to take on this servant's attitude. It seems where we falter is in letting His spirit overcome the flesh when the flesh continually fights against that spirit. The scripture is clear that at any given moment we let either our own flesh, or the spirit of Messiah rule our lives. It can't be both.

" I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." Galatians 5:16-17 NKJV

Women make better servants than men. Well, let me re-phrase that. My experience tells me that many women have an understanding of what it means to serve that many men just can't get a handle on. Let me give you an example from my own life. Early on in my marriage if I needed a drink of water I went over to the sink, turned on the faucet and poured myself a glass of cold water. There's nothing like a cold glass of water on a warm summer day to quench the thirst. My wife would do the same thing for herself, but with something added. She would always ask me if I wanted a drink of water too. Then when we had kids she started doing the same thing for them.

Well it took me a long time to learn the lesson she was portraying in that simple action. Here it is almost 20 years later and I still have to consciously think about doing these kind of small, but significant acts of service for my family, that come so easily to my wife. Many men feel their responsibility to the family ends when they bring home the paycheck and provide life's necessities. I've observed that wives, and mothers, and women in general tend to understand that serving in all aspects of life, in all situations is what our walk with our Savior calls for. These acts of serving one another are the ties that bind our hearts together and build long term loving relationships.

Now I have a theory about why this is so. I think that believing women are more in tune with the Spirit of Messiah than believing men. Recently as I was reading through parts of the gospels, focusing especially on how Yahshua interacted with others, it struck me how differently the men in the Body of the Messiah today interact with other people compared to how our Savior did. Then what made an even greater impact on me was how our sisters in the faith much more closely pattern themselves after Yahshua's demeanor and attitude when interacting with others.

One thing most men would agree on is that women are too emotional. We know that our logic will win out over emotion every time. The facts are the only thing that matter. Emotion just gets in the way when we're trying to make a point. But again after my recent reading of how our Savior interacted with people I have to wonder if I am missing something. Although I don't want to have to admit it, because I might have to change my way of thinking, it looks very much like Yahshua did interact with people on an emotional level. The condition of the heart was the only thing that mattered to Him. He understood His brethren and they understood Him, because he connected on a personal, heartfelt level.

So that brings me back to my premise that the women in our lives have a better understanding of what Yahshua is all about. For the most part they act and think more like Him than we men do. Think back to your own childhood. Who was it who took care of you and comforted you when you were sick, or hurt, or had your feelings hurt by a friend. I would guess for most of us, most of the time it was Mom. One of the things Philippians chapter 2 shows us is that along with a servant's attitude comes compassion, sympathy, and empathy. These things all fall together under the idea of comforting. Of course the Holy Spirit is also known as the Comforter.

In many believing families I know, the husband's/father's idea of leading his family consists of the following verses from Colossians.

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Master." 3:18.

"Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto Yahweh". 3:20

The only thing that seems to matter is that the wife and kids submit to the man's authority. Sure, that's what those scriptures say, but as a husband and father why should my wife and children want to submit to my authority? Let me ask another question. Why do any of us want to submit ourselves to Messiah? Isn’t it because he came as a suffering servant, giving everything he had, his very life so that we might someday reap the ultimate reward of eternal salvation? That’s the kind of man our wives and children will be willing to follow.

I would suggest that when there are problems within a believing family, the fault always rests on the husband’s shoulders. I doubt there is any wife or child who wouldn’t willingly submit themselves to the type of servant leadership that Yahshua exemplified. Remember what Paul says in Ephesians 5:25-28, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah loved the assembly and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant assembly, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.” So how about it men? Are we servants to our families in the same way that our Savior is to us. Is it our goal to love our wives in the same way Yahshua loved the assembly? Is it our goal to wash our wives with the word, so that they may be radiant and without spot or wrinkle?

Conclusion

Do you have the heart of a servant? Take a look at your family. Is your marriage operating in the same way as Messiah’s relationship with His assembly? Do your children willingly submit themselves to you out of genuine love rather than fear? Do you look for ways to serve your family, your friends, your acquaintances? Are you known as someone others will respect and follow, because you are the first to serve, and the last to say you deserve to be served? Look into your heart. Look into the mirror of truth. Do you clearly see a reflection of Messiah? If you do you’ll someday hear those wondrous words, “well done good and faithful servant”.

Scott Leys