But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. Matthew 23:11 NKJV

Jesus was radical. His instructions about making friends or being influential run against the conventional wisdom. He said that if we want to be great, we must be a servant.

In the days where having a servant was common, those who were served didn't necessarily think about caring for or serving those hired to serve them. In the popular series Downton Abbey, for example, we see a staff of people whose job was to make life easier for the people they served. Fortunately, many of them were treated with kindness, but nevertheless, there was still a defined order or class.

Jesus would have told the lords of that home that if they truly wanted to be great, they should serve their servants. They should bring a meal or make a bed. That would be strange for sure, but the heart attitude is what Jesus wants to develop in us.

I confess my first thought of the day is not often what I can do to serve someone else. Oh sure, in the course of my daily life, there are so automatic tasks because of the type of work I do that give me opportunities to "serve." But being a task-driven person, it's easy for my heart not to have a true serving spirit so much as a drive to get things done. Jesus would encourage me to think about the person I am serving and truly care for and relate with them.

How about you? Is serving one of your first thoughts? Through serving we please God and become "great" in the way that honors Him and brings us great joy too.