Humble service is about serving because Christ served. It’s about putting others’ needs ahead of your own. It’s about forming a leadership role to encourage others to join in. It’s about acting without expecting recognition. It’s about letting God shape your heart through ordinary faithfulness.
Kay and I recently moved to Columbia, Tennessee, a small, mostly rural area of 40,000 people. On May 8, 2024, an EF3 tornado tore through the neighborhood next to ours. As the damage unfolded on local TV Saturday morning, it was apparent some families were left with little more than the clothes on their backs and the few things they grabbed as they rushed from their homes before the damaging winds took hold. It became clear that our Saturday plans would need to be put on hold. We put on our work clothes, packed a few tools in the car, and headed to the closest emergency response center set up in the school parking lot near our home. We signed up, packed our Jeep with bottled water, trash bags, sanitation supplies, and first aid items, and headed into the affected area to see where we could lend a hand. Humbled service is not always scheduled or convenient, but it is a must for every able-bodied individual.
The trail the disciple walks are marked with signs that read, Security Team, Nursery, Welcome Center, Ushers, and Parking Crew. Ignoring these signs risks opportunities God places before every believer.
application
Humble service aligns a disciple’s heart with Christ’s. It trains the heart to value obedience over recognition. It guards against pride, pulling the man off the trail’s path. Humble service builds an awareness of others’ needs. Humble service protects unity, so the group moves along the trail together, leaving no man behind. It forms character so a man can accept more responsibility.
It’s important because it keeps a disciple aligned with the way Jesus walked. God wires men to serve, to be part of a brotherhood, to pull together, not to become loners or outliers.
Jesus pointed His disciples to this posture when He said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” Long before influence or responsibility, a disciple learns humility by serving where he stands.
Humble service begins when a disciple leaves the trailhead and begins walking, not when he studies the sign from the parking lot.
live it out
Along the trail, humble service reveals itself in small, repeated moments. A disciple slows his pace so the group stays together. He listens more than he speaks. He helps clear obstacles without claiming credit.
Over time, the trail does its quiet work. Service becomes less about what he does and more about who he is becoming. The disciple learns that humility doesn’t stall growth—it deepens it. The path remains clear, not because he leads it, but because he walks it faithfully.
Consider this: “As you continue walking the path of following Jesus, where is humble service quietly shaping your heart in ways no one else may see?“
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Traits describe the man God desires—
Paths develop the man God uses.
