The Mark of a Servant

“Now at this time, as the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.” (Acts 6:1)

The early church almost immediately had to deal with favoritism in how people were served, specifically the widows. The moment there were resources to be had, there were problems with how those resources were handled. That should sound familiar to anyone who has served in a church.

But how did the Apostles handle the issue? Acts 6:2-4 addresses this saying, “So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Instead, brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.””

They delegated the work, but they didn’t hand it off to just anyone. They had very specific criteria for who they would hand the tasks of to.

The men who were chosen to feed the widows had to be:
1) Of good reputation.
2) Full of the Spirit.
3) Full of wisdom

The quality of the character and competence of those serving was at the forefront of their Apostle’s minds. The focus was on their ability to get along with people, walk by the Spirit, and do things in a competent manner.

I find it rather fascinating how clear and profound a picture the Bible paints with just a few verses. It’s very easy to point these standards at another person and see where they may have missed the mark, but I challenge you to point them at yourself. Ask yourself, “am I bringing unity to the church I serve? Am I walking by the Lord’s Spirit? Am I striving to build competence in my ability to complete the tasks I’m assigned?” No one will get it right all of the time, but the more we bend ourselves to the Lord’s standards, the more we will see His will flow out of our thoughts, words, and deeds.

Just food for thought, really.