The entire concept of servants, or being a servant, is looked down upon in Western society, even though it is widely acknowledged that service is important, and even that we all serve something. But a servant is literally 'one who serves.' While a server provides a particular service, a servant is a more general role, usually to a specific person or family. So being a server is socially acceptable, but being a servant is not.
But Jesus's followers refer to themselves as servants throughout the New Testament, and while an alternate word could be used in the translation, the idea of serving a particular subject (God) as opposed to a particular task, makes servant an appropriate word choice. Jesus also told numerous parables about servants, and their roles stewarding the affairs of their master. And while there are many hidden meanings to the parables, it is fairly clear that the master is God, and the servants are us, his followers. So we are called to be servants, which is an idea that can intuitively rub us the wrong way from our contemporary perspective. But that role didn't always have that connotation, and we have similar dynamics with different labels.
A king used to have all sorts of servants, and there was a very explicit hierarchy, with some serving the king directly, and others in lower roles. But having any role in the king's household held some level of honor or prestige, compared to serving a family of lower status. But there were three main routes to finding oneself in that position. Being born that way/blind luck, being promoted to that position from elsewhere, or serving a household before it ascended to that position of prominence. One could choose to serve someone, for a variety of potential motivations, but out of belief in them, and desire to support them.
This happens in politics all the time, with different labels. A candidate's campaign manager becomes their chief of staff once they are elected. Maybe they were serving that campaign because they believed in the policies and values that the candidate was espousing. Maybe they just applied to work for the candidate they thought had the best choice of winning. Regardless of their motivation, serving someone successful have potential benefits. Similar to choosing to work for a company that becomes successful has it's rewards.
It seems less offensive or cynical when we talk about it in terms of a corporation. One becomes a servant (employee) of a corporate startup, and if it folds, they are unemployed. But if it succeeds, they rise in stature with the company, with growing financial rewards, and potential increases in position and responsibility. But you are still a servant (employee) unless you rise to the very top. It is hard to see the President or CEO as a servant, but they are responsible to a board, and the best ones serve their customers and their employees. A king is responsible only to God, but in another sense should be a servant of the people. This seems to be more explicit in European monarchies over the last century, while before that, it was rarely openly recognized. So in a sense, we are all meant to be servants.
I serve at church in a couple capacities, I serve various camps, and I serve my family. I have one primary employer or client I have worked with over the past two decades, among a wider variety of projects. I have worked with that person across multiple projects and companies, and prioritize those projects in how I structure my work and schedule. One could say that I serve him. I did not deliberately pick him, I deliberately picked other things that led to us working together, and those other things I had picked eventually fell away, leaving me with him. At first I was satisfied with serving with him, because I was proud of the work we were doing, and the projects I was involved in creating. As those projects have changed over time, I have found what we are working on together to be less meaningful, and there has been on objective decrease in overall volume of work as well. But that is who I was used to working with or serving. I did discover someone else who was doing work that I found far more meaningful and inspiring, and I did attempt to connect with them, to serve there, but did not get anywhere with that. That change likely (but not certainly) would have required ceasing service to the one I had been with for years, and probably would have led to greater personal success, had I made that transition early. But if that opportunity was ever truly available, I did not move quickly enough to capitalize on it.
I do have trouble seeing myself as a servant, but I don't have an aversion using my skills and talents to help implement someone else's vision. I have led my own projects, specifically a web series, but I usually avoid positions of ultimate responsibility, (which is a whole other topic to delve into soon) instead preferring to be second in command. I like to come up with innovative solutions to problems, but don't necessarily want to be responsible for implementing them. I have no problem letting someone else be in charge, to be the one responsible if anything goes wrong. But that person needs to be someone I trust and respect. There isn't much worse than being stuck serving a bad leader. I have the good fortune of having some degree of control over who I serve in a workplace capacity, purely because I have the financial flexibility to quit, or pass up jobs that don't look promising in that regard.
Other people may have fewer choices or options available to them in that regard. But we can all choose 'what' God' we serve. And ultimately, that is who we are serving to some degree throughout our life. And presumably we will continue to serve him after we die, if we choose wisely. And I don't mind the idea of serving God forever, that was the 'new idea' that prompted this post in the first place. If God 'has a place' for me in heaven, I look forward to the role. Presumably he made me for it, or vice versa, so it should be a good fit. And I will be in the service of a good leader. That is as much as most servants could ever hope for. And Happy New Year '25!
