The Downstairs People

Giving back has gained popularity in America over the past few decades. Businesses create opportunities for their employees, regardless of title or position, to engage in serving their communities by picking up street trash, cleaning city parks, or serving food to the under-resourced. After a few hours of much-appreciated service, shoes and shirts are changed and everyone heads back to their regular jobs.

Candidates running for public office are often filmed flipping burgers at a local café or wearing a hard hat on an assembly line. The message? "Vote for me because I'm a regular person just like you." But when the cameras stop, they drive away to resume their lives of importance.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of churches. Unlike paid staff, they serve without monetary compensation and are often given titles to reflect their value: Impact Teams, the Kindness Krew, All-Stars, Heroes, the Difference Makers. When their scheduled serving commitments are complete, they drop off their lanyards and return to their normal lives.

All this is good—very good—but is this what Jesus had in mind when He redefined greatness in the context of serving? Was He visualizing an occasional short-lived activity that could be wedged in the cracks of our all-consuming lives?

Two important words capture Jesus' thoughts on this issue: servant and slave. While these carry a negative connotation in civilized cultures, omitting them from the serving narrative misses one of the most critical aspects of His teaching.

Servant and slave in the New Testament referred to people owned or controlled by others. They included those captured in war and forced into slavery, born to slave parents, or who sold themselves as slaves to better their position in life. They were neither volunteers nor employees; their full-time responsibility was to carry out their master's wishes. In return, they received food, shelter, protection, and care.

The British drama series Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey both portrayed the historical difference between servants and those they served. For the downstairs people, serving was not a random act of kindness but a way of life: it was their identity. You'd never hear them calling "shotgun" when getting in a car, cutting to the front of the line to take the biggest slice of custard pie, or claiming the best seat at the table. Their place was not in self-promotion but promoting the good of their masters—always.

When two of Jesus' disciples asked for the premier seats in His kingdom, His response framed His classic definition of greatness:

You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.  But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.           Mark 10:42-44

Our natural desire is to be numbered with those being served; to be upstairs people and live as masters of the castle. But becoming a follower of Jesus changes all that. We willingly place ourselves under the headship of a new Master because He offers a better life, and embracing His desires changes the way we think, act, and live 24/7.

• God values every person and calls His followers to serve them as they move through their day — at work, in the grocery line, at home, on the road, in restaurants—not because it's our turn to volunteer or because others deserve it, but because they're important to the Master. It's what downstairs people do.

• God wants every person to hear the life-giving message of the Gospel and calls His followers to join Him in engaging with others about Jesus—at work, with friends, in school, in the neighborhood—not because it's "witnessing" night, but because they matter to the Master. It's what downstairs people do.

We need to be careful not to think that event-driven serving is what qualifies us for greatness, because it's not. God isn't interested in adding activities to our already busy lives, but in redefining our very identity.

Being a follower of Jesus means we vacate the upstairs, return it to its rightful owner, and move downstairs. And as we engage in the heart of our Master, not as an activity but as a way of life, we experience much more than greatness.

We experience Him.