When Does Servanthood Become Sin-enablement?

Servanthood is one of the marks of Christlikeness.  Mark 10:45 says “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…”  Servanthood is doing what other people truly need done because they can’t do it, either because of lack of ability or opportunity.  The believer’s heart is inclined toward this.  We were created for good works (Eph 2:10), we should be zealous for them (Titus 2:14), and we should look for opportunities to do them (Gal. 6:10).  Believers have a new desire to love others which flows from the very heart of God. 

But like so many things, the fall complicates things.  Even servanthood can become a haven for sinful impulses.  When we serve, we are doing something for another person.  But, the person being served can discover that servanthood means he can binge watch a season and a half of “My 600-pound Life” and things are still getting done.  Is this what servanthood is for?  Most certainly not.  But if servanthood can enable sin, how do we guard against this?

Here are the two important aspects that I think need to be considered.

• Servanthood is clearly enabling sin and must be stopped when…
  1. … servanthood steps out of defined God-given roles. We are not called to do everything.  In fact, God has given quite a few roles that are well defined and narrow.  A woman cannot begin serving as an elder even if there is a need for leadership in a church (1 Tim. 2:12).  A man cannot cuddle a woman who is not his wife even though she needs emotional comfort (1 Cor. 7:1).  A person cannot begin to serve out vigilante justice because God has given this role to government (Romans 13).  We are only going to bring more problems when we try to solve problems by stepping outside of God’s clear instructions.   Ask Abraham and Sarah how it went when they came up with the brilliant idea of bring Hagar into the mix. 
  2. … servanthood does not look to the whole person. When we think about a person’s needs, we have to do our best to think about the whole person.  The New Testament is filled with examples and exhortations to care for both the body and soul of a person.  There are times when physical help will ultimately damage their soul, such as when a person needs biblical teaching on money and stewardship rather than another financial gift.  Other times soul-care will be undermined because of a lack of physical-care, such as when a woman needs to know who will care for her unborn baby instead of hearing again that abortion is sin. 
  3. … servanthood forgets that serving includes speaking hard words. Serving a person oftentimes means releasing a burden, but other times serving means putting the burden back on because it was shucked illegitimately.  We are serving people when we bring a needed exhortation.  We are serving people when we shine the biblical light in their eyes regarding sin.  We are serving people when we call them to the hard and difficult task.  A caution is needed here.  If this kind of hard mercy happens too often, your love will grow questionable in their eyes.  There has to be affirmations and help and burden-lifting that assures them of your affections for them. 
  4. … servanthood rescues people from needful consequences. The Bible is clear that if a man will not work, he will not eat (2 Thess. 3:10).  Proverbs says that a man’s hunger will propel him to work (Prov. 16:26).  If you serve food to the unwilling worker, you are keeping him from the very consequence God designed for him to have.  This is not the kind of service he needs.  If people have broken the law, they need to be sentenced.  If they have broken trust, they must earn it back.  Bypassing these consequences only short circuits the soul-changing power of discipline. 

• Servanthood MAY OR MAY NOT be enabling sin when…
  1. … you are doing what could be done by the other person, because it is hard to know what the other person’s biggest need actually is. We are creatures that need work and rest.  Sometimes we must leave good things undone for the sake of rest and reflection.  Should those good things be done by the thoughtful servant?  Sometimes yes and sometimes no.  Sometimes the other person’s biggest need is to be served while they rest or do another needful task.  Sometimes the other person’s biggest need is to be exhorted to do their job and/or face the consequences of negligence.  This can be very difficult to discern at times.   Who can read the heart in all these different situations and accurately judge between differing circumstances?  

What should we do in this “may or may not” case?

First, as I said before, God’s people are inclined to serve.  How many times has God shown us mercy in the very midst of our foolishness?  He brings discipline, but surely we can see his mercy has sustained us in the very moment of our sinning.  Eventually, we begin to see the blinding goodness of God in contrast with our hard-heartedness.  As Rom. 2:4 says, “the kindness of God leads us to repentance.” Christians will be like their Father in this.  When there is doubt, we break toward grace.  Mercy should be our knee-jerk reaction.  Servanthood should be our bent.  If you need to work at becoming a servant, then in the questionable moments you should opt for service.  It is an opportunity to grow in this vital area of Christlikeness and you shouldn’t miss it by he-hawing around about possible sin-enablement.

Second, if you are the kind of person who says “yes” all the time, you may want to reevaluate your serving.  There is another kind of service you need to consider, and it is the service of exhortation and rebuke.  It is possible that the questionable moments are only questionable because you have not asked the hard questions, sat down for the hard conversation, or taken a hard look at the bigger picture. 

Finally, these complex and murky matters need wisdom.  Pray fervently for this and God will give it (James 1:5).  Talk to others for wise biblical counsel.  Have the difficult conversation with the person in question and tell them about your conscience-driven concern about enabling sin.