John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, is known among other things for his inaugural speech. On January 20, 1961, Kennedy began his presidency by speaking this historical line, “Fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” This quote, and variations of it’s context, has been repeated over and over throughout the past fifty-four years–making it one of the most famous quotes of a modern United States president.
Kennedy, or his speech writer, probably didn’t intend to offer such spiritual wisdom, but that famous quote actually holds biblical advice. Basically, what that quote implies is don’t seek to find what can be given to you, but rather seek what you can give instead. When we strive to be the giver rather than the givee, we are doing what Jesus instructed us to do.
We live in a culture where our music, advertising slogans, and forms of entertainment encourage us to take care of ourselves. To do what feels right for us, and to make ourselves number one. Yet, that is the antithesis of how Jesus encourages us to live. In Philippians 2:3b, Paul says, “…in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Acts 20:35 reminds us of the words Jesus spoke, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” Matthew 20:28 tells us that, “the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve…” And in Mark 9:35, as Jesus sits with the twelve disciples, He tells them, “Anyone who wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”
How does living out that advice look like in our day-to-day life? I’m not sure that too many of us really know what that looks like; because most of us, if we are honest, struggle with living our life that way. To be candid, I struggle with this too. Often, I find myself thinking,
I just want to relax
I just want to take care of me today
I just want to do something fun
I just…
But now that I’ve typed out those wants, there’s one word that jumps out at me. It’s present in every single one of them. I. I am the focus. Maybe what Jesus is trying to tell us is that when we focus on ourselves, we will never be satisfied. There will always be one more, I want.
Instead, we should find ourselves thinking,
What can I do to help ________________relax
(Someone else)
What can I do to take care of __________________today
(Someone else)
What can I do to help __________________have fun.
(Someone else)
When our focus becomes more about what we give, rather than what we want to have given to us, according to Jesus, that is a more blessed position to be in. Proverbs 11:25 sums it up perfectly, “Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” Maybe the real reason we often find ourselves wanting so much, is because we often aren’t really giving that much.
So if we were to begin, to start, to commence today with a new mind set, maybe we could apply that famous quote from Kennedy’s inaugural speech to our own life. Rather than wondering how others can serve us, instead, we could begin each day by asking ourselves how we can serve others.