7‑Eleven servants ∙

7‑Eleven servants ∙

Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. – John 12:26

Matthew 20:25-28

 25 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.

 26 But among you, it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,

 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.

 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven! The 7‑Eleven brand is known and loved around the world. Many of their iconic products have become a part of American culture. At 7‑Eleven, they are customer-obsessed. They are a success story fueled by knowing and serving the needs of their customers. Their focus stays fixed on making life easier for customers.

They “Give the customers what they want, when, and where they want it.” This simple idea made them a marketplace leader. 7‑Eleven has a legacy of innovation. They virtually created the convenience store industry. They were among the first to offer 24-hour service. 7‑Eleven figured out that being a servant means being on duty and willing to serve, even when it is not convenient. Their willingness to serve makes what is seemingly inconvenient convenient.

The Father seeks 7‑Eleven servants. The Father would probably be quite pleased if we were to coin a new motto: thank Heaven for 7‑Eleven servants of the King.

John 12:26 Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

Jesus called His followers servants. Following the Lord Jesus Christ involves becoming a servant of the King. What does it look like to be a successful servant?

Our eternal destiny is secure when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. At that moment, the Father could take us home, and we could enjoy being in His presence forevermore. Why does He leave us behind to live out our appointed number of days on this earth?

There are many correct answers to this question. One of the more important ones is that the Father wants us to be His servants on earth. To do so, we must develop a servant mentality. Ultimately the Father is in charge. His servants are no longer me-centric. Instead, they become “Father-centric.” We are here to serve the Father. It is not the other way around. A servant mentality realizes our purpose on earth is not to serve ourselves. Instead, our purpose is to be the Father’s servants.

This is a big hurdle indeed! But once we are on the other side, we have the opportunity to be genuinely successful servants. A 7‑Eleven servant gives of their time, resources, energy, money, loyalty, and expertise. So it should be for children of the King who surrender, release, and turnover all they have to the Father. The Father has no use for our stuff. He has no intention of keeping it. The Father returns all of it back to us. The Father asks that what He returns to us is used wisely in His service.

Our purpose for living is to please Him. He, in turn, will place people in our lives to serve and care for.

Matthew 10:24 Disciples are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master.

The Message Bible paraphrases it, “A student doesn’t get a better desk than their teacher. A laborer doesn’t make more money than their boss.” (MSG)

On NCIS, Special Agent in Charge, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, is “The Boss.” All the special agents that report to him call him “Boss.”

When we decide to become a servant of the Father, we surrender being the boss of our little world, not to mention the universe. Our thinking becomes, I serve the Boss. I am a servant of the King of kings and Lord of lords. The struggle is over, and I am more than content to join Him in His kingdom’s purposes.

REFLECT & PRAY

Be careful where you sit; choosing humility is far superior to being humiliated before your peers and higher-ups.

Father I want to be Your servant; develop in me a servant mindset. Encourage me to act it out.

INSIGHT

Once a child of the King willingly decides to be a servant, appropriate attitudes will follow. Servants understand that regardless of their ranking in social circles or society, they are always willing to take the lowest place.

Rather than claim a place among the great, they position themselves below their own rank. It is far better to be humble than to be humiliated. It is far superior to begin at a lower level and be invited to come up rather than being demoted. It is better to assume a humble place and be promoted than to be presumptuous and reproved.

Proverbs 25:6-7

 6 Do not honor yourself before the king or push for a place among the great.

 7 It’s better to wait for an invitation to the head table than to be sent away in public disgrace.

The Hebrew term translated as honor yourself or put yourself forward is hadar. Part of its semantic domain is to claim honor, seek favoritism or respect, thrust yourself forward, exalt yourself, or be puffed up.

Luke 14:8-11

 8 When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited?

 9 The host will come and say, “Give this person your seat.” Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!

 10 Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, “Friend, we have a better place for you!” Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests.

 11 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

“Humility is a fundamental grace in the Christian life, and yet it is elusive; if you know you have it, you have lost it! It has well been said that humility is not thinking meanly of ourselves; it is simply not thinking of ourselves at all. Jesus is the greatest example of humility, and we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to imitate Him (Philippians 2:1-16)” (Wiersbe).

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© Dr. H 2022