1So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.
When we think of servants we often get the picture of rich houses in England with their servants running around pampering to the smallest needs of stuffy people in old fashioned clothing. Being a servant was not that bad. You had a warm place to stay and food for your stomach. The work was not all that unpleasant. By contrast, the word for servant used in this passage is of a particular kind of servant. This servant was on a large boat of that day. This servant sat below deck, often chained to his seat with little fresh air or even sunlight. His one job was to pull the oar. They were a disposable item. If they got sick, they were thrown overboard. Food would not be wasted on a sick slave. No free medical care here! You were an expendable commodity. Use it and then throw it away. Paul uses this particular word for servant because he wants to show the contrast between the messenger and the message. This lowly servant is entrusted with the most valuable treasure. The bottom of the servant barrel has the privilege of carrying the secrets of God. It would be like giving a street walker the Presidential suitcase that controls all the nuclear weapons. The contrast is obvious. She does not deserve to have that responsibility. So it is with Paul and with us as believers. We do not deserve to carry the message of God’s great love. This message is so powerful and life altering that only God deserves to be the messenger. And yet, God chose to use people to carry this message. And the message is this: all people come to God through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. He paid for all sins. He deserved life and He got death, so that we who deserve death may have life. So next time you start to get a little puffed up at your own importance, think again.
The Arnold Journey 