Bible Studies

Greatness Turned Upside Down

by Dale Buchanan 
07/21/26
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or, Being a Servant – the Path to Spiritual Greatness

Demotion after demotion after demotion and then finally a promotion!

Such was the life story of this young man. He was sold into slavery by his brothers. Then he was bought as a slave/servant to a military man. Although serving superbly, he was falsely accused by the seductress wife of his master and thrown into prison, and was demoted again. There, he became the assistant–but still a slave – to the prison keeper and eventually oversaw all the prisoners. He even served as an interpreter of dreams. His God-given ability to interpret dreams brought him to the king’s attention when he needed an interpretation of his troublesome dreams. Joseph interpreted his dreams, and the king promoted him to second in command to the Pharaoh himself. (Genesis 37, 39-41).

Perhaps Jesus had Joseph in mind when he said, “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28 KJV)

 “In 1878, when William Booth’s Salvation Army was beginning to make its mark, men and women from all over the world began to enlist. One man, who had once dreamed of becoming a bishop, crossed the Atlantic from America to enlist. Samuel Brengle left a fine pastorate to join Booth’s Army. But at first, General Booth accepted his services reluctantly and grudgingly. Booth said to Brengle, “You've been your own boss too long." And in order to instill humility in Brengle, he set him to work cleaning the boots of other trainees.

Discouraged, Brengle said to himself, "Have I followed my own fancy across the Atlantic in order to black boots?" And then, as in a vision, he saw Jesus bending over the feet of rough, unlettered fishermen. "Lord," he whispered, "you washed their feet, I will black their shoes." As Samuel Logan Brengle willingly and lovingly bent over those dirty boots, he experienced servanthood and therefore success, for he was living like Jesus. Evidently, it was a lesson well learned: Brengle went on to live a life of profound servanthood, even as the Army's first American-born commissioner.”

 Now is an age where many (perhaps most) young people, and many in preparation for the ministry, want to start at the top of the "pecking order." The secular career-minded person wants to start with a high salary, top-notch benefits, and the same respect as the person who has served many years and earned people's respect. The young pastoral candidate wants to start with a good salary, a trained staff, and excellent church facilities. 

Yet, God's order is totally the opposite. Consider these verses: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:   But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:" (Philippians 2:5-9 KJV)

Did you know God has to humble himself to even look upon the heavens and earth? "Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! (Psalm 113:5-6 KJV).

Today, self-esteem is considered extremely important. And it results in pride that prohibits a person from genuinely serving the Lord. Pride was the first sin of Satan. It is the sin that seduced Adam and Eve. The sin defeated King Saul, King Nebuchadnezzar, and Diotrophes in 3 John 9.

Pride leads us to value ourselves too much and value others too little. Pride leads us to have blind spots, preventing us from seeing our own vulnerabilities. It hurts our relationship with God.

James and Peter knew what they were talking about when they encouraged and commanded us to "humble ourselves" (James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6)

So Jesus, being the perfect example of servanthood, encourages us to greatness through the path of humble service.   Jesus served, and we should serve. He said in John 13:16-17 KJV, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."