What does that word "doulos" mean?
δοῦλος
1) a slave, bondman, man of servile condition
a) a slave
b)
metaph., one who gives himself up to another's will those
whose service
is used by Christ in extending and
advancing his cause among men
advancing his cause among men
c) devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests
2) a servant, attendant
My favorite rendering of the meaning of this word is 1c - "devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests. It's not my favorite because it is the easiest to understand or to perform, but rather because it best flies in the face of my own pride and selfishness regarding my relationship to Christ.
What are my "interests"? I want to be known. I want to be liked. I want to be important. I want to have impact and influence. I want to be someone important. I want to have many friends. I want... And boy does the list go on.
Yet, in my relationship to God, can I identify myself as James does in his first words of his letter to the 12 tribes as a "bond-servant" or slave of Jesus Christ? Do I set aside, or regard as irrelevant, my own passions, desires, "interests", so that His cause will be advanced?
I ask this question not because I am just pondering, but rather because I recognize that I am not about His "cause" most of the time. I want to be a slave of God, but my initial response is usually to my own "kingdom" and my own desires.
Lord help me recognize my arrogance and pride that hinder me from serving you with a whole heart. Father, take away my longing to be something or someone and seek your kingdom first. Help my daily prayer to be the one recorded on the wall in my office - which says,
Our Father,
Lord, come I this day to You!
I am not a great gift to offer you;
It is my coming that is my gift.
For who among us holds within themselves
any worthy offering to the God who owns the universe?
To come to You while the entire world moves away
from You is my only gift of worth.
And so I come this day; ignore me me or use me,
save me or spend me.
Use me or set me by, I am yours.
Amen.
My favorite rendering of the meaning of this word is 1c - "devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests. It's not my favorite because it is the easiest to understand or to perform, but rather because it best flies in the face of my own pride and selfishness regarding my relationship to Christ.
What are my "interests"? I want to be known. I want to be liked. I want to be important. I want to have impact and influence. I want to be someone important. I want to have many friends. I want... And boy does the list go on.
Yet, in my relationship to God, can I identify myself as James does in his first words of his letter to the 12 tribes as a "bond-servant" or slave of Jesus Christ? Do I set aside, or regard as irrelevant, my own passions, desires, "interests", so that His cause will be advanced?
I ask this question not because I am just pondering, but rather because I recognize that I am not about His "cause" most of the time. I want to be a slave of God, but my initial response is usually to my own "kingdom" and my own desires.
Lord help me recognize my arrogance and pride that hinder me from serving you with a whole heart. Father, take away my longing to be something or someone and seek your kingdom first. Help my daily prayer to be the one recorded on the wall in my office - which says,
Our Father,
Lord, come I this day to You!
I am not a great gift to offer you;
It is my coming that is my gift.
For who among us holds within themselves
any worthy offering to the God who owns the universe?
To come to You while the entire world moves away
from You is my only gift of worth.
And so I come this day; ignore me me or use me,
save me or spend me.
Use me or set me by, I am yours.
Amen.
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