Mensa Otabil - One Who Serves (10/14/2025)
Luke chapter 22, verse 27: «For who is greater, he who sits at the table or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as one who serves.» Jesus Christ teaches His disciples about something very important: service. Jesus says that when you go to a function, who is greater-the ones who sit at the table or those who are serving?
Obviously, the answer is those who sit at the table, as they are being served by waiters. Yet Jesus says He came to us not sitting at the table but serving. He turns the paradigm of greatness on its head. For us who respond to the call of God, it is not a call to sit at the table, but a call to serve. When you make service the prime objective of your calling, you will be successful because every individual, company, and organization that has achieved anything significant did not achieve it by seeking a position, but by seeking a place to serve. The calling of God is a calling to serve.
If you believe God has called you like Moses, if you believe God has called you like Aaron, then you must ask yourself where you serve. The problem we have is that many of us have a very negative view of what being a servant is. We see a servant as the lowest-level non-achieving person. We equate service to servitude or slavery. Consequently, when we think about service, we think about degrading ourselves, not achieving anything, and being put down. As a result, when the Bible calls us to service, we turn away from it, fearing we will degrade ourselves, that everyone will walk over us, and that we’ll become a doormat.
However, Jesus sees service as the process to greatness. He says, «He who will be great among you, let him first serve,» and it’s a principle that works even in the corporate world. Look at the great companies of our time. What are they doing? They serve us. They serve us with access to the internet, with ways to communicate, with various products, and with events. Everyone who achieves something does so by serving. The reality of life is that to go up, we must first go down, and that going down is the service part.
So, has God called you? Is God going to do great things with you? Will you one day stand before a Pharaoh and say, «Let my people go»? Will you see powerful signs validating you? Then start with service, and that’s exactly what Moses is doing. He is out there serving the people of Israel, who are slaves in bondage, by declaring the word of God.
One thing I have noticed is that most times, when people get promoted-be it in politics or the church-when their titles pile up, their service often disappears. Once people become titled or entitled, they no longer want to serve; they just want to sit at the table while others serve them. But if you truly want to be a great person, if you want to fulfill your calling in life, forget about titles, forget about sitting at the table, and don’t worry about having a place among great people; simply focus on the service you are called to provide. Like Jesus, we don’t sit at the table; we serve. The more you serve, the more you fulfill the calling of God upon your life.
Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, I am at Your service. Teach me not to despise any service that You call me to offer. In Jesus' name, Amen.»