Whom do you serve?

We All Serve Someone

As a child, I recall learning that my Dad was the “boss” at his job. I asked him about that one, reflecting on how nice it must be not to “have anyone to tell you what to do.”

He surprised me with his answer. He said, “We all have a boss.”

In vain, he explained how he had to answer to a Board of Directors. It appeared that he had a boss after all.

I then tried to figure out if there is any job where one does not have a boss. Now as an adult, I still have not come up with one.

If you are a doctor, you must serve patients well. If you are a construction worker, you must please superintendants and customers. If you are a policeman, you must work favorably with both your sergeant and the public. Even a rock star must keep his fans happy.

As the song by Bob Dylan proclaims, “You’re Gonna Have to Serve Somebody.”

You may be an ambassador to England or France,

You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,

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, yes indeed

You're gonna have to serve somebody,

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Spiritually, you also are serving someone. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you are furthering someone’s agenda every day. The devil will have you focus on yourself, and lull you into believing you are independent, rather than deceived. Psalm 14:1 sums it up this way: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

The Lord will have you focus on others. After all, Jesus was God in the flesh and washed his disciples’ feet. Think of how long and uncomfortable that process must have been for each follower. Service is the manner by which we live out the faith in the grace that has saved those who have been redeemed.

Finally, 1 Chronicles 28:9 warns us that we cannot fool God, even if we fool others or ourselves. “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.