Martyr or Servant?

As people who minister, we must constantly be on guard against the flesh.

While our spirit delights in serving, sometimes our flesh fights against it. We can easily slip from humility to pride; from being servants to thinking ourselves martyrs:

“Why must I always be the one to do this? Why can’t anyone else help?”

“Where is this person’s family, Lord? Why aren’t they helping?”

“Go on without me—I’ll just stay here alone again with Grandma.”

Let’s be vigilant to keep the selfish martyr’s complex from gaining a root in our hearts. It leads only to bitterness and resentment.

The antidote, of course, is to remember the example of Jesus and allowing the Spirit to put His mind in us.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who…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” (Philippians 2:5–8 KJV).

Let us always serve as Christ served, for the benefit of others.