What Makes A Servant?
“Naming your project ‘Serve the Servants’ has quite a negative connotation to it. Maybe switching it up to something like ‘Serving Those Who Serve’? - No nurse wants to be called a servant.”
The above remark was one that I received last a couple months back regarding our Serve the Servants Project. We wanted to take this week’s WPV Pointer to shed some light on how WPV Associates came up with the name Serve the Servants for our giving project.
Let me first start with clarifying what the Serve the Servants Project even is. STSP is an opportunity for WPV Associates (www.wpvassociates.com) to provide defense program to those working in a service type of role such as a medical professional, church staff/volunteer, educator, etc. This training is available for those who work in industries that either don’t have enough resources to afford this type of help or groups who work in industries that only provide the bare minimum of safety to effectively check a box.
Now here’s how we came up with the name, Serve the Servants. It is our belief that being a servant is in no way a derogatory position. We believe that servant-hood is one of the highest callings a person can enter into. Our beliefs and values are grounded in our belief in Jesus Christ, who was the ultimate servant. Jesus wanted to help people and demonstrated that in the ways he served others above his own personal interests. Jesus put aside fame and fortune and gave his time, energy, and LIFE by serving. Through the STSP we also want to imitate the greatest servant by giving our time, energy, and lives. This is the attitude of not just STSP, but WPV Associates as whole. We are not focused on growing a training empire or becoming prominent businessmen or businesswomen. Like Christ, we just want to help people with the skills we’ve been blessed to attain over the years.
Why do we consider nurses, church staff/volunteers, or educators servants? I have personally had experiences in some capacity with each one of these professions. From my experience, each of these professions requires an individual to serve other people in ways that most ordinary folks would take a pass on. Nurses care for people by listening to their concerns, helping to heal their wounds, and even endure physical abuse from those they’re trying to help. This is a mirror of what Jesus, the greatest servant, did with his time on Earth. Church leaders and volunteers will take calls at all hours for those in need, give up personal days to help prepare for an event, and lead others to do this same work. This is a mirror of what Jesus, the greatest servant, did with his time on Earth. Educators will strive to teach students who heckle them and don’t put forth effort all while taking an offensively low salary to do it. This too is a mirror of what Jesus, the greatest servant, did with his time on Earth.
My hope is that the message we’re communicating is not that we believe being a servant is somehow a position to be mocked, laughed at, or placed under the foot of another. We believe that a servant is one who has willingly devoted their career to helping others by giving their time, energy, and life. If after reading this you still believe that our term “servant” is an insulting one, I want you to know that we willingly and firmly place ourselves in the role of a servant to you still. If you don’t believe you are a servant, we still want to help you. Servant or not, you shouldn’t have to accept workplace violence as a part of your life.
Any work we do through the Serve the Servants Project can only be accomplished through donations. We want to help as many people as possible. Your willingness to donate or re-share posts and articles like this one will help us fulfill our mission as servants. Please donate or re-share the following links to help us further the mission of the Serve the Servants Project.
wpvassociates.com/support