Background Story: The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Philippians as a letter to the church of Philippi to help them live out their Christian life.

Read Philippians 2: 3-11

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Big Idea: Service is an act of worship to God.

Recognition is common in today’s culture. Rarely do people do an act of service without taking a photo or video to post on social media. Stealthy servanthood is not a popular concept. Even writing those words, “stealthy servanthood” sounds like a great hashtag.

Jesus said in Matthew 3, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Jesus warned the people following Him to watch out for this common pitfall, or tactic of the enemy. If Satan can’t get you to fall for an obvious sin, his favorite backup temptation is pride. As we learn as disciples to listen and respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit, saying yes to serve, give, and love others, Satan uses pride to make our service ineffective. You see, when we serve, love, and give for public recognition, we obtain the glory instead of God.

This week I challenge you- as the Holy Spirit leads you to speak out, serve, or respond to Him, do it for God, without applause. Don’t take a selfie, post it on Instagram, or start a Youtube channel. Trust that God sees, and that His pleasure is your reward. When we obey this way, service becomes worship. A life lived for the purpose of bringing honor, adoration, and praise to God.

Takeaway Verse:

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Dig Deeper: 1 Corinthians 10:31, John 13:1-17, Matthew 5:14-16, Philippians 2:1-13

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