Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
- Philippians 2:6-7
 
Serving doesn’t lessen Jesus. Not a bit.
 
In the ancient world, servants stood at the bottom of the heap. They washed feet. They made food. They got their hands dirty. They did all these things because they had a lower social status and were seen as less dignified and less valued.
 
This same mindset pervades some corners of our society. In the name of efficiency, some leaders refuse to do dirty work. They hide behind slogans like “Only do what only you can do” or “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.” And there are times when we all need the nudge to think strategically, set priorities, and not get bogged down in minutia and do-it-all-itis.
 
But Jesus did a lot of things that other people could also do. He washed feet and cooked fish and got his hands dirty. And he didn’t spend every minute of every day preaching. His life was filled with small kindnesses and acts of service, often done in secret, done with a frequency that (in the Gospel accounts) is only bashfully inferred.
 
Serving didn’t make Jesus less of a leader, less of a man, or any less God. He climbed down the ontological ladder a rung or two, joining our human race, but that didn’t take away his God-like nature or his equality with God. He didn’t have to sacrifice his equality with God to serve. He could serve and still keep his greatness.
 
When have you ever felt like you were being asked to serve in a way that was “beneath you”? Maybe the task sounded menial. Maybe the request seemed to move you two steps back on a path of advancement. Maybe the perks or pay or title landed short of what you feel you deserve. Maybe that thing inside you that gibbers in your ear that you’re not known, not appreciated, not loved, not wanted … maybe that thing got a week’s worth of work out of that request for service.
 
The hard and joyful work of the soul that’s alive to God in Christ is to serve anyways. Where we can. When we can. And to be gentle with ourselves when we just can’t. To receive in our hearts the service of Christ, who accepts us even when we’re not willing or ready to serve.
 
Where do you think God might be calling you to, so to speak, “serve anyways”?