Gotta Serve Somebody

“Nevertheless they will be his servants, that they may distinguish My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations.”
-II Chronicles 12:8

“You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody”
-Bob Dylan, “Gotta Serve Somebody”

The question is never “Will I serve?” It’s “Who will I serve?”

The most egotistical of us is a servant, like it or not, know it or not. As Dylan rightly said, we serve somebody; something – ourselves, human opinion, carnal desire, power, money, the list is endless. We’ve chosen who/what will govern us today, and much of our freedom and general happiness will be determined by that choice.

King Rehoboam, himself a ruler, learned this the hard way when he chose who would govern him and Judah. After a good start as recorded in II Chronicles, he openly rejected God’s law and thereby God Himself. As usual, rejection of Divine rule meant withdrawal of Divine protection, and Shishak of Egypt attacked and conquered Judah. Rehoboam then led Judah in repentance, and God forgave with a caveat: they would survive, but they’d also be allowed to learn the difference between serving God and serving anything else. It’s as if the Lord said, “You didn’t like working for me? Try another employer, and let’s see how you’re treated.”

I know this story pretty well, since so much of it is my own. I’ve left God to work for other employers, stupidly thinking I’d find better positions or benefits at Baal and Co. Having been allowed to experience the striking differences between the two, a few points stand out.

God Values the Employee over the Work

Our works matter, and I’m leery of any teaching suggesting otherwise. Though none of us is justified by good works (Ephesians 2:9) they’re still expected of us (James 2:26) and are a primary means by which our lights shine before men. (Matthew 5:16) That said, we are more to God than our works, and that alone distinguishes Him from other employers. They value you when you perform; He values you regardless. So when Mary and Martha were entertaining Jesus, He commended Martha for all her hosting efforts, but He praised Mary’s desire to commune with Him even more. (Luke 10:41) Our Boss wants our love first; our service second. And how often do you hear that from the man at the top?

Serving God Builds Us Up; Serving Other Gods Drains Us

When I served my flesh, it kept demanding more. A little porn was no longer enough; more lasciviousness was required. A few drugs wouldn’t suffice; binges were ordered. Serving people as a manpleaser was just as demanding. The more I tried to make everyone happy, the more they assumed I was there only for their pleasure. And serving power may be the most exhausting of all, because it never says Enough; it always screams More! Serving anyone or anything other than God is an invitation to being drained from within and without, because the World, Flesh and Devil are cruel taskmasters who simply can’t be satisfied.

But the more fervently I try serving God – offering my body up as a daily sacrifice studying His word for direction and inspiration and striving to follow His principles as laid out in scripture – the more energized, joyful, and potent I feel. It’s as if the more I strive to please Him, the more rested and refreshed I become, whether that’s logical or not.

Serving God Liberates; Serving Other Gods Enslaves

When Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden light, He wasn’t speaking poetically or symbolically.(Matthew 11:30) I’ll bet you can testify to this yourself. When you serve Him, don’t you find He gives immeasurable liberty, calling us to rest before we ourselves know we’re tired; blessing our service in so many ways it hardly feels like service at all? It’s amazing, really, how strong we get when we paradoxically are exhausting ourselves for Him. True, we can burn out if we’re not careful, but He’s never the one who exacts that sort of overtime from us. When I served other gods, they bound me up, limiting me through addictive patterns and the awful coffin of obsession. Every man I’ve known who gave himself to something other than his heavenly father found that the god he served made his life smaller, more constricted, more helpless. Serve the author of freedom and you get freedom’s benefits. Serve a tyrant and a tyrant’s terms.

The other gods are still out there today, posting their want ads and beckoning. I hope my own experience will remind me, when I consider applying at the wrong company, what the environment was like in the other gods headquarters, and what the pastures are like when I follow, serve, and love the true Shepherd. It will, as always, be my choice.

And is it really such a hard one to make?