The world system conditions us to be selfish. The advertising industry promotes: “have it your way.” It offers choices and entitlement. It teaches us, “you can get anything you want, and we will help you do it!” It advocates “charge now and pay later,” so instant gratification can be achieved.

Most of us have more “stuff” than we have room for. The storage building industry has grown astronomically. The self-storage industry is forecast to be worth $64 billion by 2026. We have become hoarders of goods and services we will probably never use. Digital hoarding has also become a pitfall. Subscriptions to Spotify, SiriusXM, electronic greeting cards, online magazines, and newspapers, and numerous other “serve-me” items are just a mouse click away. Most of us have more instantly order online accounts than we would like to admit. We have the world at our fingertips and thousands of unknown faces serving our every wish

While we are blessed to live in a country of abundance and innovation, we must have a self-inventory system that regulates our indulgences. That self-inventory system is free, and it’s called servanthood.

In the Beatitudes, (I like to transliterate into the Be-Attitudes), in Matthew 6: 19-21 NLT, we find these words of wisdom. “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

I was fortunate enough to learn this scripture as a child, and it has been an anchor for me through the years. Please understand, I am not against any of the above-mentioned conveniences.

God wants us to have an abundant life. He also wants us to serve others spiritually and naturally. The balance is found in Matthew 6:33 NLT, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Becoming a servant is a choice. Every day we can consciously pray, “Lord, please use me today to serve and bless another human being.” The Lord will always answer that prayer and will bless you in return as you serve others. We don’t have to qualify for service by taking a course and receiving a certificate. We simply must open our eyes to the needs of others and share what we have. Much of the time money is the least needed act of service. What most people need is friendship, wisdom, emotional and physical help. Your time and attention are given when it’s not convenient.

As parents, we can model and teach servanthood in our homes. Our actions always speak louder than our words. Our children need to be exposed to a world where need is real and simple acts of love are valuable. Television and movies, even books will not teach servanthood but we as parents can.

A friend of mine recently shared about cutting his neighbor’s yard. I thought “That’s nice – we’ve all done that.” Then I discovered the neighbor was a 93-year-old, World War II veteran and my friend’s servanthood was more than nice, it was lifesaving. Servanthood makes us grow physically, spiritually, and emotionally. It helps us cope with our own problems and centers us on the truth. Jesus is a splendid example of this. Literally hours before he was to be betrayed by one of his closest friends, beaten, despised, and crucified, Jesus became the servant to his disciples. He taught them this one great and lasting lesson of humility and servanthood. John 13:1-5, 12-17 NLT, reveals the servant heart of our Savior.

“Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas,son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So, he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right because that’s what I am. and since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.

I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.”

Let’s become servants in this serve-me world and walk in truth and love.