"A person who is obligated to serve without wages." Synonyms
include: convict, detainee, captive, hostage, prisoner, prisoner of war, slave,
servant. And as you know, a prisoner is deprived of many of his rights. Knowing
all these, Paul and the apostles chose to call themselves bondservants of
Christ!
Galatians 1:10 says, "For do I now persuade men, or God?
Or do I now seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a
bondservant of Christ." Here's how The Message interprets it, "Do you
think I speak this strongly in order to manipulate crowds? Or curry favour with
God? Or get popular applause? If my goal was popularity, I wouldn't bother being
Christ's slave."
At some point, we must decide why we do what we do. Why do you preach?
What's the motive behind your messages? Why do you go to church? To please your
spouse, your pastor, or your parents? Do you go to church or attend fellowship
because you love God or because you want to marry someone there?
Don't follow or serve God asking "What's in it for me?" Follow
Him as a bondservant; expecting nothing (even though He's not unrighteous to
forget our labour of love). God seeks men and women who will serve Him
selflessly; men and women who are motivated by their love for Him instead of
what they can get from Him; men and women who want to be used by God, not those
who want to use God!
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