Why Servants Want Kings To Rule Over them

Why Servants Want Kings To Rule Over them

Stuck in Servant - I’m fascinated by human nature and the transition from servant to friend in our relationship with God. Those with a servant mentality mired in self-centered poverty are very prone to expect someone else to take care of them. It’s easy to see dependency, entitlement, and childish mismanagement at this level of maturity. It’s at this stage we wish for someone to rule over us and make our problems disappear.

"But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over us'-even though the Lord your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. 1 Sam 12:12-13 NIV

We all go through this stage as children living under parents, and even as new believers being discipled by spiritual overseers or pastors; nothing wrong with that. In fact, mentoring and accountability are great ways to learn. We need that kind of oversight. The problem arises when we never graduate to relating to God for ourselves and taking responsibility for our own lives. Maturity is God’s goal for each of us. Becoming personally creative, industrious, and prosperous is a natural byproduct of our spiritual maturity. The parental, pastoral level of oversight is nurturing, and growing and healthy for a child, but it turns to bondage if we refuse to leave the nest and grow up. A crib is a safe haven of rest for a toddler and a prison cell for an adult.

What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. Gal 4:1-3 NIV

As parents of four children, Sue and I enjoyed loving and raising our kids. Now we enjoy seeing them make their own way in life independent from us. We see them growing in their own relationship with God and prospering… it’s really fun to see them work through the discipline issues in their own children.

Our provider – Here’s the real message: At every level God is inviting us to seek Him as our source. This is being played out at the highest levels in politics and at personal levels of spiritual maturity.

Can you see that the real question is not, “How can we provide / pay for health care, welfare, medicare, employment, retirement, and education or everyone?” The better question is, “How do we enable people to provide those things for themselve?”

I believe that, through Jesus, I can be an over comer, become the head and not the tail, and prosper. That belief naturally leads to a “can do” attitude that finds answers and solves problems. Listen to the names of God…

* JEHOVAH-JIREH "The Lord our provider"
* JEHOVAH-NISSI "Our banner, a banner of love and protection"
* JEHOVAH-SHALOM "Our perfect peace"
* JEHOVAH-TSID-KENU "The Lord is our righteousness"
* JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH "The One Who is with us everywhere for He is Omnipresent"
* JEHOVAH-SABAOTH "The Lord of Hosts, our Protector."
* JEHOVAH-RAAH "Our Shepherd Who tenderly leads us, loves us and will keep us safe."
* JEHOVAH RAPHA "I am the Lord Your Physician or I am the Lord Your healer" Exodus 15:26.

A poverty mentality is filled with the same sense of entitlement we all have. In fact, healthy believers have a much greater sense of entitlement; they just look to God to provide through the work of their hands. Poverty looks to man (or a King) to provide things that should come from the hand of God.

Failure is important – All of us have tried to achieve something we really desired and have failed – often miserably. We often blame ourselves or we blame God. Poverty would blame others. What we miss is that failure is really part of a death process that is the key to spiritual growth. Resurrection power is really only available to those who are willing to risk failure and try something new. Listen to the way Jesus explained it:

But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." John 12:23-25 NKJV

Our hopes and dreams are like grains of wheat. When they fall to the ground (fail), we feel very “alone.” But if that grain of wheat dies, the seed germinates and it multiplies. Paul said the same thing, “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” (1Cor 15:36)

The paradox – What does it mean to let something I cherish die so that it can resurrect and multiply? Working with Jesus is a delicate combination of giving our best effort and relying on His power. If we drift away from the power and presence of God, failure will brings us back. Even when we don’t drift away from the Lord, a failure will cause us to mature in new ways and result in new open doors and greater multiplication and prosperity… if our eyes are on the Lord. If we get our eyes off the real source of our provision and multiplication, a failure will just stay a failure and we’ll learn to accept poverty in that area of our lives.

What if my brother is failing? – You can see the same paradox in Gal 6:2 and 5; “Carry each other’s burdens” and “each one should carry his own load.” Our efforts to help others should be an encouragement and point to solutions but we should not interfere with a healthy death and resurrection. Mentoring real spiritual maturity teaches people to receive from the Lord themselves. When we look to other people, a ruling King, or the government to meet our needs, the sense of entitlement just taxes our own productivity and leaves us as dependent servants instead of reigning Kings.

When a door closes or something fails in life, we all need to realize that God has something much better in mind. We should begin to thank him for killing the old and showing us the new. Real maturity learns to appreciate failures rather than the status quo because that’s the source of new ideas, new direction, new levels of multiplication… resurrection is good thing.

Caution – In one sense we believers should wear bracelets that say “do not resuscitate”. At another level, the first thing we should do is have an outreach to others in place to help us find the new thing. We’re not monks trying to die alone! We’re believers learning how to live “life and life more abundantly.” We should take full responsibility to personally receive our full inheritance from the hand of the Lord. That doesn’t mean that others can’t help us learn to do that. Prosperous people are famous for learning from others, receiving correction from others, and even implementing checks and balances to make mid-course corrections. They receive those corrections without any condemnation or guilt. Graduation to new levels of blessing means the old things pass away (death) and all things are made new (resurrection). It's really very exciting!

He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. Prov 13:18 NIV

He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. Prov 15:31-32 NIV

Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Ps 141:5 NIV

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John and Sue www.Releasing-kings.com