To Serve and to Give
By Pastor Chuck Swindoll
We pastors are God’s true servants when we are like the Lord Jesus, who came not “to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
To serve and to give . . . that’s the ticket. Pride wants strokes—lots of them.
- It loves to get the credit
- To be mentioned
- To receive glory
- To have people ooh and ahh
Ideally, your flock and your elders will be thoughtful people who give you the credit you deserve. But, regrettably, that will not always occur, and your pride will need to be held in check.
At those tough times when you do the work and someone else gets the strokes, or when nobody notices or even seems to care, remember your role: to serve and to give.
True love flowing from authentic servants does not keep a record of who did what, and it does not look to others to give the credit.
In other words, real servants stay conscious of the blindness pride can create.
Copyright © 2025 by Insight for Living and Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
About the author
Pastor Chuck Swindoll
Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading program in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.
