Are we servants?

Deep_Strength · 2019-04-02T05:40:38+00:00

You're mixing up 2 concepts.

Headship/Authority-submission and serving. Service is not submission.

A good leader will: love, lead by example, and serve.
A good follower will: respect, submit to leadership, and serve.

You can serve from any position whether authority or under authority. But serving is not submission. It's simply meeting needs, wherever they are.

RedPillWonder · 2019-04-01T22:06:53+00:00

To who?

If you're asking are we God's servants? Yes.

That's one aspect of our relationship with Him. We're also friends, joint heirs, sons and daughters, the bride of Christ, "there is one that sticketh closer than a brother" and other aspects.

Are you asking are we servants of, say, a wife or children?

This is where some may get hung up on definitions, applications, etc.

For example, if two men did the same or very similar things for their wives when their spouses's were sick, and one said he was "serving" her and the other described it completely differently, their actions are alike, they're just viewing it from differing perspectives.

That said, those perspectives can lead you to actions that are wildly different. It depends on the mindset and perspective that you are operating from.

Sometimes it's semantics.

Sometimes it's a world-shifting perspective that comes from your purpose in life and one's relationship with the Lord.

I'm not sure which one this is, as I don't know much about you and what you believe.

Trump-Is-Op · 2019-04-01T21:56:49+00:00

Yup, a king serves his people and his people sere him. Thing is your wife and you serve each other differently. You provide and she assists.

rocknrollchuck · 2019-04-01T23:51:39+00:00

I think it comes down to the fact that we must lead AND serve at the same time, which can be tricky sometimes. But in practice it looks like this, whether we're talking about family or a work situation.

Jalakee · 2019-04-02T14:23:14+00:00

Christians are called to serve. Service is not a synonym for submission, or passivity.

This is the problem with RP. Guys get so neurotic about being 'alpha' in everything that they cant even humble themselves enough to serve others. They miss the whole boat, stuck on their own self-importance.

HobbesTheBrave · 2019-04-06T21:28:56+00:00

It is a concept I have never thought about before and I wanted some more opinions as I dig in and study on my own.

If you're smarter than me, and we both claim to follow 'love your neighbor as you love yourself', then, from now on, you handle all the smart-people problems for me. Just as tall guys take down things from the toppest shelf. Just like the non-crippled help the crippled.

If you claim to be The Godfather, and you're not insulted at the thought of your followers not bringing their problems to you, before they go to someone else, then you'll not be Godfather for long.

If your problems aren't ours, if our problems aren't yours, you're not of us.

Red-Curious · 2019-04-03T19:29:22+00:00

I'm completely dumbfounded that a day has gone by and nobody has referenced Mark 10:45 yet - "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve."

God is not a servant

Jesus was a servant. Jesus is God. God is a servant.

/u/Deep_Strength addressed the underlying issue, though. There's a difference between serving and being subservient.

I did and will continue to lay my life down for her and sacrifice

This is what concerns me a bit, though. Jesus didn't sacrifice for trite things. There were countless more people who could have used his healing, his teaching, his provision, etc. who he simply did not sacrifice for. Instead, he withdrew to spend time with his friends. Why? Because his mission mattered more. His ultimate sacrifice on the cross was not merely a sacrifice for our sake - it was the very heart of his mission for being on earth in the first place.

Don't get hung up on "I must sacrifice for my wife." We sacrifice for Christ, as a bride ought to do for her groom, as we are the bride of Christ. The husband sacrifices for his mission, which in turn benefits the bride, the same way Christ's sacrifice on the cross was for his mission, which benefited his bride.

No more talk about willy nilly "I must sacrifice for my wife" garbage.

It's also somewhat ridiculous to act like making her a cup of soup or picking up medicine at the store is somehow a sacrifice. And then we talk about Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, as if somehow we're talking about the same thing. That's not a sacrifice. That's just being a good steward.

In biblical times, women were their husband's property. Not politically correct today, but consider the interpretive framework here. If a man's donkey was sick, would he refuse to provide it medicine and feed it? "I'm not my donkey's servant!" No donkey-owner would consider that serving his donkey. He considers it taking care of his donkey.

Your wife isn't a donkey, but the concept applies: taking care of her isn't some high and mighty form of sacrificial service. It's just common sense. This kind of misunderstanding, as your friend seems to be having, is why the secular subs started calling people autistic. The idiocy makes me literally cringe right now, if that's how people are interpreting what they read here.

Tag: u/rocknrollchuck /u/OsmiumZulu - is our content really that mute on common sense matters that we have to have posts like this? Do we need to have a sidebar post on exercising common sense?

becoming_alpha · 2019-04-02T05:26:07+00:00

Jesus spent his whole life serving, but one example I think is instructive, when Jesus washed the apostles' feet. That's a job that the most lowly of servants would do because you're wiping miles of nasty dust and sweat off your guest's feet. He did it to teach a lesson: let he who is mightiest among you be the servant. Basically none of you are better than any job, don't think you're special just because you know the truth. Because of where Jesus was coming from and the lesson he was teaching, his service was not demeaning to him, his manhood, his leadership, or his position.

If Jesus had washed the apostle's feet in an effort to get them to like him or remember him when he was gone, that would be a covert contract and not the kind of service we should engage in. It can be the same actions, but it's your reasons and purpose that really matter. Take care of your wife, man.

4percent3381 · 2019-04-03T16:19:44+00:00

Practically , I use the oldest teenager analogy, if your kid was sick would you not help? The use of “serve” her is a strange choice, and you probably said some other strange beta comments and that’s why you got that reaction.

Now youre conflating God and servant with helping your sick wife? Overthinking it dude.

Better thought is: my wife is sick, need to help her get better, did you go through a similar experience (share notes).

Umar_Neo · 2019-04-10T13:43:55+00:00

Good to see you on this sub, first time I noticed you in here. This sub fills a lot of the gaps that the other will often leave us with. Both are good, but brothers here tend to be a bit more forgiving. I hope you find your way bro.

NoFaithInThisSub · 2019-04-01T23:16:10+00:00

He said that as leaders of our families, , we are not servants. God is not a servant.

Jesus was. Now, when we need something, do we not go to God who serves our needs to us?

He's not in the "position" of servant-master, but definitely as our King He serves our needs, listens to us etc etc.

Be a man, look after your wife. Good leadership is concerned with the loved ones around you. Bible leadership is not top down, nor bottom up, but leading 1st, and people following behind you.

Title	Are we servants?
Author	Daddy_ThunderCock
Upvotes	6
Comments	18
Date	April 1, 2019 8:44 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RPChristians
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RPChristians/comments/b88oo0/are_we_servants/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RPChristians/are-we-servants.301356 https://theredarchive.com/post/301356

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