Born Again to Serve

One of the earliest African-Americans to have a political impact on the United States was Booker T. Washington (pictured at left), a man who was born into southern slavery in pre-Civil War Virginia. In 1881, he began to work at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama where he helped to build a center for learning. One of the habits he developed while working there was to deliver a practical message to the students of the school every Sunday night that addressed some important topic. On one of those evenings he shared a message entitled "The Gospel of Service" where he laid out some important principles to help the students in the years to come. Sharing with deep conviction he said, "In one way or another, every individual who amounts to anything is a servant. The man or woman who is not a servant is one who accomplishes nothing."

What made Washington's words so radical in his day was that he said them in the face of evil southern racism that hung onto the old idea that blacks were meant to be slaves. And yet, Washington did not flinch by such nonsense, for he saw that whether black or white, rich or poor, those who achieve the most in life do so out of a heart that is given to serving. Perhaps American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had this in mind when he stated, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" Jesus set an example for us when He said, "the Son of Man did not come to serve, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk. 10:45, NIV). Here Jesus sets a wonderful standard, for "The mark of a great Christian is seen in how well he or she serves."