You’re Going to Have to Serve Somebody
Keith Williams asked the Kuyper College community a simple question as faculty, staff and students gathered in the Vos Chapel on September 12 for a twice-weekly service.
“Why are you here,” the 2020 Kuyper graduate and director of Youth with A Mission (YWAM) West Michigan said with a smile. “Is it to play sports, prepare for a certain line of work, or to collect a paycheck? Those are all good secondary reasons to be here at Kuyper, but today, I want to call you higher.”
As followers of Christ, we are called to look beyond our own needs and desires and live our lives in service to others, he said. However, he was quick to note that he was not there to give yet another moralizing sermon or to make attendees feel guilty for falling short of this goal.
He acknowledged the difficulty of living up to such a standard, saying, “I don’t know about you, but I struggle with being a servant. Of course, we should put others before ourselves, but it’s hard. It’s one of the hardest things in life to do.”
Reflecting on the overarching Biblical story of creation, fall, redemption and restoration, Williams reminded his listeners that God desires His people to return to Him when they stray from the path He has laid out for them.
“God wants His people to turn from false and worthless gods and put their trust and faith in Him,” he said. Though we don’t usually worship physical idols today, he added, anytime we make something more important than God in our lives, we have essentially created an idol.
Referencing the Bob Dylan song “Gotta Serve Somebody,” Williams reminded the audience that, no matter who we are, we all will have to serve something in this world.
“Don’t waste your life serving lesser gods,” he urged his listeners. “There is a real God who loves you and wants a relationship with you, but you can’t serve Him and something else at the same time.”
We should be willing to do whatever it takes to follow Jesus, he said. If we serve God first, He will teach us to serve others.
“So, this is God’s question for you today,” Williams asked the audience, “Who are you going to serve?”
