Unsung hero

According to Mumsnet a syndrome emerges about this time every year known as Why-isn’t-my-child–Mary syndrome. It seems that some parents – actually, mothers – harbour such a deep rooted desire for their little daughters to play Mary in the school nativity that their zeal turns into real antagonism towards others mums whose daughter might just turn out to be a rival. Apparently the syndrome begins in November and has cleared up by the time Christmas is finished.

The kind of desire for just a little bit of profile and the chance to be centre stage is not restricted to the school playground in the run up to Christmas. It’s something that is hardwired into human nature. However, it is very often the people who have little or no profile at all who are the real heroes. In church that is certainly true. For every high profile event or famous preacher, there are dozens of unsung heroes, people who serve without fuss and sometimes without thanks, people see serving as a great privilege and never seek praise.

In the story of the first Christmas, Joseph emerges as one of the great unsung heroes of the Bible.

Joseph found himself caught up in a whole web of events that he would no doubt have never chosen. His bride to be falling pregnant. Finding himself and his family on Herod’s wanted list. A journey to Egypt and a two year stay there. Hard to believe a carpenter from Nazareth would welcome such a set of circumstances. And yet throughout the drama, Joseph is only a supporting act. Centre stage is reserved for his young wife and, of course, the baby Messiah.

It was no accident that Joseph played the part he did. When you read the portions in Matthew 1 and 2 that narrate Joseph’s role in the Christmas events, you find a godly man with a godly capacity for the challenges he faced.

Joseph had a solid core. Matthew 1.19 describes him as a righteous man. The way he handles the news of Mary’s pregnancy reveals his righteous mindset. His decision to divorce Mary quietly demonstrates a combination of conviction and compassion. This was something that he had thought long and hard about. He loved Mary and did not want to bring shame on her. But he also loved God and did not want to bring shame on Him.

Unsung heroes have a strong inner core that drives them to seek the best for God and for people.

Secondly, Joseph was open to God, He was prepared to revise his decision in the light of further information – in this case divine information (Matthew 1.20) . Openness to God can save us from making harsh judgments and catastrophic decisions, the like of which Joseph would most certainly have made had his ear not been open to the voice of the Lord.

Finally, Joseph was prepared to give up his rights (Matthew 1.25). Joseph did not consummate his marriage until after Jesus was born. He had the right to, but he gave up his conjugal right for the sake of bringing Christ into the world.

Bringing Christ into our world requires the same kind of surrender of rights with which Joseph was faced. Paul speaks about this in 1 Corinthians 9.19. He says that even though he is free he is prepared to become a slave to everyone in order to win as many as possible to Christ!

Despite the sacrifice, despite the courageous decisions, Joseph has never really gained the kind of hero status that befits him. In fact, he might well be appalled that we are talking about him in terms of a hero, even an unsung one. There again, that’s what unsung heroes are like. Not too concerned about receiving praise, just content to have had the privilege of serving.

It’s powerful, it works – but it’s not that prevalent

Business and leadership thinkers attribute the term and the concept of servant leadership to Robert K. Greenleaf. Some of the more historically informed will point out that Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher of the 7th century B.C., was espousing similar principles in his day.

There is no doubting the esteem in which leadership thinkers hold the concept of servant leadership. They recognise that it is an incredibly powerful approach to leadership and the positive effect it has on those who come under its influence. However, as an article in Forbes magazine pointed out, powerful though it is, it is not that prevalent.

Anyone who has read the Bible will realise that the concept of servant leadership predates Robert Greenleaf and Lao Tzu. We find the God – yes, the much maligned God of the Old Testament – revealing Himself as Israel’s helper, a term that was used first of all to describe the kind of companion God sought for Adam. In fact in those early chapters of Genesis we see God revealing Himself as a servant leader in the way He sets Adam and Eve up for success and progress in the Garden of Eden. In short, He uses His unlimited power to empower them.

Little wonder, therefore, that when the Son of God becomes son of man He describes Himself in terms of a servant. What is unusual, even breathtaking, is the extent to which He emphasises His servant like nature, both in words and in actions. And, in case anyone was in any doubt, just before His crucifixion, He took a towel and basin of water and performed the ultimate menial task, namely washing His disciples’ feet. He did not do this simply to impress His disciples with His humility, He did it, the Bible explains, firstly to show them the full extent of His love and secondly to provide an example of how they should relate to each other. He provides His followers with a towel instead of a title.

So why is it that servant leadership is not that prevalent? Why is it that even in the church the servant hearted spirit of Christ’s followers is sometimes not that much in evidence? How can we become effective servants of both the Lord and each other?

Firstly, servant leadership and serving in general is counterintuitive. The world system, whatever culture you look at, seldom if ever, equates influence with the kind of virtues associated with servanthood. Can you imagine any prospective prime minister or president being questioned about how they had developed patience or love or humility? It’s hard to imagine gentleness or kindness as qualities one would seek in future political leaders in any kind of political set up. Yet those qualities are exactly what we find in Jesus.

Secondly, servant leadership requires a deep level of security in who we are in Christ. John’s gospel explains in the verses before the description of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, that Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;  so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist (John 13.3-4). Jesus did not serve in spite of the fact that He was the Son of God, but because He was the Son of God. The more we discover who we are, the more serving should become a natural expression.

Thirdly, we need conviction about the impact of servanthood. Towels just don’t seem to make the same impression as titles!

One follower of Jesus who laid hold of the towel and served with distinction was Stephen, the first martyr in the Christian church. In Acts 6 he is chosen to help deliver bread to the church’s widows. His practical service opens doors for supernatural ministry and preaching the gospel. The impact of his service extends even into the manner of his death, as the future apostle Paul stands watching as Stephen lays down his life for Jesus. Serving has the power to change people’s worlds.

Finally, serving is simply a matter of following the example of Christ. Here’s what Jesus said after He’d washed His disciples’ feet:

I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life (John 13.15-17, The Message).

No other reason is needed. Jesus says do it. Do it – and live a blessed life.

It’s not about the coffee

Jim Behar, an executive at Starbucks for many years, wrote up an account of his time with the company and outlined the kind of corporate culture he had helped to develop. His book was entitled It’s Not About The Coffee, with the subtitle Lessons On Putting People First From A Life At Starbucks.

His central claim was that Starbucks was all about people, putting people first and serving them coffee, summed up neatly in the phrase “We’re in the people business serving coffee, not in the coffee business serving people.

It’s quite a claim to make, given that Starbucks is a billion dollar corporation. Can you make that kind of money and really put people first? Is it really not about the coffee?

Whatever you think of Behar’s – and Starbucks’ – insistence that they are more focused on people than coffee, it does indicate that there is something more to the whole experience of serving and being served than simply the delivery of a product.

That is certainly the case when you look at what the Bible says about serving and servanthood. There is far more to serving than just the delivery of a service or getting a job done.

In the Old Testament, God is referred to as Israel’s help on more than one occasion (e.g., Deuteronomy 33.29; Psalms 33.20,70.5, 124.8). The word translated help or helper, is the same as the one used by God Himself when He created Eve as a helper for Adam (Genesis 2.18). This is quite a statement. Just as Eve came alongside Adam to help him steward a perfect world created by God, so God would come alongside His people to help their progress in an imperfect and dangerous world. That is quite a revelation of the nature and character of God; He is a helper.

When we turn over to the New Testament, we find this particular aspect of God’s nature manifested and magnified in the person of Christ. Jesus is explicit about who He is and what He came to do: “The Son of man did not come to be served but to serve” (Mark 10.45). He sets it out very clearly again in Luke 22.27 “I am among you as one who serves”. Years later, reflecting on Christ’s journey to earth in the incarnation, Paul says that He was made in human likeness and took on the form of a servant (Philippians 2.7). The journey from heaven to earth was a journey into servanthood for the Son of God.

Taking into account the context in which these statements are made about the nature of Christ, you will soon find that they were not intended merely to make a theological point – even though they do. The intention of Jesus and Paul was to set before the eyes of the original disciples and those in Philippi, who in later decades began to follow Jesus, a model of servanthood for them to imitate.

Serving is not just about helping out or making sure a need is met. When you serve, especially in the context of church, you connect to something deep in the heart of God. You somehow sync with His nature. You mediate the heart and life of Jesus to people around you.

Wherever you serve, whenever you serve, you are doing more than just meeting a need or getting a job done. You are revealing the heart of God.

Serving – it’s not just about the coffee. It about much, much more.