P'nei Adonai resources for walking in the presence of God
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P'nei Adonai resources for walking in the presence of God
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Hebrew concepts • amen • anah • asham • avodah • BS"D • eved • kana • machaseh • minchah • mishpochah • ol Yeshua • olah • pesookay d'zeemrah • shachah • teshuvah • yirat Adonai Biblical Greek concepts • baptizo • douleuo • latreuo • diakoneo Modern concepts • kosher (Not all of our vocabulary notes have yet been transferred from our old website's format. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please check back later.)
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Douleuo
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| You shall fear Adonai your God. You shall serve Him and hold fast to Him... – Deuteronomy 10:20 |
Please see the vocabulary essay on eved for more information about serving Adonai with the attitude of a bond-servant, as both a privilige and obligation.
This is a type of serving Adonai that has competition from serving money (Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13) or gluttony (Romans 16:18, Titus 3:3). Yeshua taught that people not freed from slavery to sin serve sin in this way (John 8:33-34) and Paul repeats this (Romans 6:6).
This matter is tricky to write about practically because Adonai calls each of us to serve him in different ways. Be faithful to listen to what God has to say to you in times of private prayer, and then be obedient to what God asks you to do!
In Matthew 24:45-51 and 25:14-30, Yeshua teaches us to be a "faithful slave" in using the "talents" God gives us, as well as to have that mindset with how we treat each other.
Yeshua is clear that serving each other in a douleuo manner is very possible, and a worthy goal, yet also exceptional.
| ...On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must become your attendant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave! - Matthew 20:26-27 |
We should all want to be "first" among God's people in serving, as God wants us to be. If we truly want to participate in his Kingdom, we need to look carefully at the way in which we understand the meaning of the words "servant" and "slave" in the Apostolic Writings, for these terms are used differently (or avoided and not used) in many cultures.
To begin, refer back to Galatians 5:13-14. How do we serve each other in a doeleuo manner? How do we love our neighbors as ourselves?
Notice how in Acts the believers both met in houses (i.e., people still owned them) and would sell houses to provide for the needy among them. The example for a typical believer is not a commune lifestyle, but being willing to devote resources to the brethren as readily as to yourself. This is a financial example of caring for a neighbor in the same way we care four ourselves.
Relationally, we best care for our neighbors when we are part of a community in which people are genuine and vulnerable. We should spend time together, being serious about both attending congregational activities and requesting activities that help us. A congregation should do some resting together, as well as worshipping and working together.
In times of problems we should take care of each other's personal and household needs, caring for each other with as much love and labor as we care for ourselves. This care should be both physical and spiritual: of both "stuff" and prayer. We should pray for each other routinely as well as in times of crisis. And in times of crisis we should visit the people facing the cricis to pray with them!
Loving neighbors as ourselves is everyone's job, and is not "assigned" to leadership.
Caring for each other in a douleuo manner raises an interesting question. The commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" perhaps means that people who are not able to love themselves much are then largely exempt from this job of serving their neighbors, to give themselves opportunity to heal. Every follower of Yeshua needs to love one other as Yeshua loved us. But we do not need to be stretched in every direction simultaneously.
Similarly, to some extent a congregation can be sensitive of people's character in how congregants serve one another. For example, people who themselves prefer to be alone when ill might not be the best people to serve by visiting the sick if there are other congregants better suited.
Why did Yosef repeatedly rise to positions of influence, even while a servant? In both places this happened over a period of years, so it must have been about Yosef's character and not because of something special he did. Consider how much Potiphar and the chief jailer both trusted Yosef!
| Thus he left all that he had in Yosef's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate... And the keeper of the prison committed to Yosef's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under his [Yosef's] hand, because Adonai was with him; and that which he did, Adonai made it to prosper. - Genesis 39:6, 22-23 |
Notice how this passage ends (and also in verse 39:3). Adonai is the one who enables us to be good servants; when we faithfully serve, Adonai causes our service to prosper!
What must Yosef have been like in his character? What personality traits would be necessary in a person someone would willing place in charge of all of his or her affairs? It's worth trying to make a list. Here are ideas brainstormed from several discussions about serving as Yosef did:
Now consider the people you serve in your life: your family, boss at work, congregational leaders, etc. Do you demonstrate characteristics such as those just listed? What would the people you serve say about your service according to such standards? If you fall short, remember that it is Adonai who enabled Yosef to be such a good servant and pray to become a better servant with Adonai's help and blessing.
