What we can do if we have not yet made service second nature

By Dean Collins

It was just second nature, so I slid into home. It was a long time ago and I was safe, just in case you were wondering. I grew up playing baseball and I loved it. But once I got to high school I was so consumed by music—playing it, singing it, and directing it—that I quit baseball to pursue my music interests.

Just a few years later I discovered church softball. Not the same game. What I discovered was that men in the South take their church softball league very seriously! To say that church softball on the southwest side of Atlanta was intense was an understatement. On these teams were former high school, college, and at times professional baseball players. Some churches claimed that their recruitment of these players was for the sake of evangelistic outreach, but sometimes it felt more like just a desire to win the championship. Any and all championships.

Not worried about winning

A few years later I played in a church league in Auburn. I was a grad student and was invited to play for the Hillel student organization’s team. It’s a long story for another day, but I accepted. It was a handful of grad students and mostly a bunch of professors.

I had just started on the team. After knocking in a couple runs and heroically stretching a triple into a home run, I thought I would have been congratulated, maybe even celebrated! I made the dramatic slide at the plate and paid for it with some lost skin. It was second nature for me to slide. I had played plenty of baseball and softball, and that’s just what I did in those situations. I would have thought I would get a high-five in the dugout.

Instead, I was told no one else would be sliding or trying that hard, so if I was wanting to help win a championship, I could play for the Baptist or the Assembly of God church teams. Hillel was all about fellowship and exercise, not winning.

How second nature happens

You can watch baseball or any sport and know a lot about it, but behaviors don’t become second nature unless you have had a lot of repetition and practice playing the sport. The disciples had watched Jesus, but becoming a servant was not yet second nature for them. They were still hoping for greatness. And there was evidence this was an ongoing problem since they were arguing about it even as Jesus’ final days were approaching.

Jesus explained again that in the Kingdom of God things were the opposite of what you might expect them to be. He said greatness is seen by one’s serving, not by one’s rank or title. I think Jesus had them thinking about it and probably feeling a little embarrassed about their argument. But then he asked a question: “For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves?”

I think the disciples were sure they could answer this one. They had lived long enough and watched how the world works, so they knew they could get this right. Jesus pushed a little more: “Is it not the one who reclines at the table?” I think at this point they were probably nodding. But then he set the hook when he said, “But I am among you as one who serves.”

Becoming more like Jesus

And the disciples knew he was right. They had seen it over and over. Jesus was never pushing to be center stage, yet his compassion and mercy always elevated others and brought glory to God. And honestly, I think he knew that before they would stop arguing about who’s greatest, serving others had to become second nature. Their inclination, our inclination, tends toward pleasing self and getting proper recognition.

After the resurrection and after they waited in the upper room in Jerusalem, things would change. The Holy Spirit would come, stirring them toward their mission. And as the Holy Spirit moved and they recalled the practice and words of Jesus, it began to sink in. Their instincts began to shift. They were becoming more and more like Jesus.

Servanthood was becoming second nature.

If serving those around us is not becoming more and more natural for us, maybe we are reading and thinking about spiritual things more than practicing them. It might be time to get out of our chairs of importance and practice serving others with the heart of Jesus.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Luke‬ ‭22:24-27‬ ‭ESV

Photo by Brandon Mowinkel on Unsplash

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