Chapter 3: What Does It Mean to Empty Ourselves and Serve Our Neighbors as Servants?
In Chapters 1 and 2, we examined the meaning of Jesus Christ emptying Himself and what a life of emptying requires of Christians who follow Him. One question, then, remains: “How does a Christian’s self-emptying actually appear in daily life?” The answer Scripture gives is clear: A person who empties himself becomes a servant and serves his neighbor.
Emptying does not end simply with giving up our selfish desires. When we empty ourselves of the desire to be our own masters and are filled with the mind of Christ, we naturally begin to look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others. Therefore, one of the clearest fruits of a life of self-emptying is service. Jesus Christ, though He was in very nature God, emptied Himself and took the form of a servant (Phil. 2:6–7). The Lord of the entire universe did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mt. 20:28). How, then, should we who have received the grace of Christ’s self-emptying live? At home, in the church, in the workplace, and before every neighbor we encounter, we must move away from a life that exalts ourselves and toward a life that empties ourselves in order to serve others. This is most clearly demonstrated in the account of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet.
A Person Who Empties Himself Humbles Himself and Serves
In John 13:14–15, Jesus says to His disciples: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” Jesus did not teach service only with words. He personally got up, took off His outer clothing, wrapped a towel around His waist, and washed His disciples’ feet (Jn. 13:4–5). In those days, because people wore sandals and walked on dusty roads, their feet commonly became covered with dirt and dust. Washing someone’s feet, therefore, was an act of serving another person from the lowest position. But who performed this task? Jesus—the Teacher and Lord of the disciples. Even while following Jesus, the disciples often argued about who among them was the greatest. Yet as He faced the cross, Jesus did not exalt Himself. He personally bent down and washed His disciples’ feet. Before those very disciples, the Lord bent down instead of lifting Himself up. This is the emptying Jesus showed us.
Emptying is not simply giving up what we possess. It is emptying ourselves of the desire to exalt ourselves. It means emptying before God our desire to be recognized, our desire to be treated with honor, our desire for others to acknowledge our hard work, and our desire to stand above others. Therefore, humility does not simply mean thinking little of ourselves. True humility means emptying ourselves of the expectation that we deserve special treatment and willingly choosing the lower place for the good of others.
Jesus was Lord, yet He took the place of a servant. Likewise, we should not think that our church position, career, education, wealth, or social status entitles us to be treated as superior to others. Instead, we should use what we have to serve others. At home, in the church, and in the workplace, rather than seeking to display and exalt ourselves, we should willingly choose the lower place for the needs of others and the good of the community. This is the life of emptying ourselves and becoming servants.
A Person Who Empties Himself Covers the Faults of His Neighbor
As we meditate on Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, we are also led to consider how we should respond to the weaknesses and faults of others. Just as the Lord humbled Himself and served His disciples, when we discover the weaknesses of others, we must not use them as a means of elevating ourselves. Instead, we should embrace them in love and seek their restoration. We discover other people’s weaknesses very easily. The closer someone is to us, the more faults we see. We know our spouse’s weaknesses, our children’s shortcomings, our coworkers’ mistakes, and the weaknesses of fellow church members better than most people do. The question is what we do after we see those faults. The world often exposes the faults of others in order to elevate oneself. But when Christians discover another person’s fault, they should not exploit it but cover it with love. Proverbs 17:9 says: “Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” To cover a fault does not mean pretending that wrongdoing never happened or ignoring sin altogether. Rather, it means that when we see someone’s wrongdoing, we do not spread it to others or use it as a weapon of condemnation, but seek to restore that person with love and truth. First Corinthians 13:5 also says that love “keeps no record of wrongs.” The Greek word translated here as “keep a record,” logizomai, carries the meaning of calculating or recording something in an account book. Love does not record another person’s wrongs in the ledger of the heart so that they can be brought out and used against that person later. Therefore, emptying ourselves in love appears in the following ways.
First, we do not repeatedly bring up past wrongs.
When husbands and wives argue, they should not continually attack one another by saying, “You did the same thing before.” When a coworker makes a mistake, we should not dig up mistakes from years ago and use them to judge that person’s present character. If we have forgiven someone, we should not continue recording that wrongdoing in a ledger of condemnation.
Second, we do not recklessly interpret another person’s motives as evil.
We easily misunderstand other people’s actions. “They must have said that to disrespect me.” “They must have acted that way because they dislike me.” “They are doing that because they want to take my position.” When we make definite judgments about another person’s heart based on unconfirmed assumptions like these, we may turn something that never actually happened into a sin in our own minds.
A person who has emptied himself does not make his own judgment the absolute standard. He first asks: “Could I have misunderstood?” Whenever possible, he speaks directly with the person, confirms the facts, and remains open to the possibility that the other person may have had good intentions.
Third, we do not continually nurture hatred and resentment in our hearts.
If we repeatedly replay another person’s wrongdoing in our minds, even a small hurt can grow into anger and resentment. Therefore, rather than holding on to another person’s fault and allowing hatred to grow, we should entrust the matter to God and respond in love. We can cover the faults of others because we ourselves have first received God’s forgiveness. God knows all our faults, yet He has forgiven us in Christ. Therefore, those who have been forgiven forgive. Those who have received grace extend grace. The greater the forgiveness we have received, the more our attitude toward the faults of others should be transformed.
A Person Who Empties Himself Serves Not Merely with Words, but with Actions
After washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus said: “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (Jn. 13:15). The Lord did not stop at explaining service. He did it Himself. This is also an extremely important principle for us today. Emptying must be demonstrated through action. First John 3:18 exhorts us: “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” Even in those days, there were people who said that they loved their brothers and sisters but in practice turned away from those who were in need. John did not recognize such love as genuine. If we know what someone needs but do nothing, merely saying that we love that person is not enough (v. 17). Love must appear in action. The hungry must be given food. We must make time to be with the lonely. We must give practical help to those who are struggling. Those whom we need to forgive must be forgiven.
If I am the one who should apologize first, I must apologize first. When I see someone who needs help, I should not simply walk past thinking, “Someone else will do it.” These are concrete expressions of a life in which we empty ourselves and live as servants.
James likewise says that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). The same principle applies to love. Love without action cannot bear the fruit of love in our daily lives. No matter how passionately we worship at church, how much biblical knowledge we possess, or how beautiful our language of faith may be, if we do not serve our spouse at home, show consideration for our coworkers at work, or care for neighbors who are struggling, our emptying has not yet become a way of life. Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. Therefore, we too must ask: Whose feet should I wash today? Of course, this does not mean only that we must literally wash another person’s feet today. The important question is whether we are willing, out of love, to do what we do not want to do, what no one else will recognize, and what our pride resists doing. Can I be the first to do the work that no one notices? Can I love first even when the other person has not first treated me well? It is before questions like these that the reality of our emptying becomes visible.
Emptying Ultimately Appears as Service
We can now clearly see the direction of a life of self-emptying. Jesus emptied Himself. The Lord who emptied Himself took the form of a servant. The Lord who became a servant washed His disciples’ feet. And He told His disciples: “Do as I have done for you.” Therefore, Christian emptying is never merely a spiritual discipline for oneself. It is a life in which others are restored as much as I am emptied, others are built up as much as I humble myself, and God’s love flows to my neighbors as much as I serve.
Therefore, we must ask ourselves: Am I emptying myself of the desire for recognition and serving even in places where no one sees? When I discover another person’s faults, do I expose them, or do I embrace that person in love? Do I love only with words, or do I love through concrete actions? We must stand honestly before these questions. Emptying myself does not mean that I disappear. Nor does it mean abandoning my personality or responsibilities. Rather, it means emptying my heart of the desire to enthrone myself as king and receiving the mind of Christ in its place. In a person who is filled with the mind of Christ, emptying bears the fruit of love and service. When I empty myself of the desire to be at the center, I can look to the interests of others and willingly serve them.
Jesus emptied Himself in order to serve us. Now, as people who have received that grace, we too must empty ourselves of the desire to exalt ourselves and to be our own masters. We must live by seeking God’s will and the good of our neighbors before our own will and interests. True emptying does not end simply with giving something up. We must fill the place we have emptied with the mind of Christ and move into a life of serving our neighbors with the humility and love that the Lord Himself showed us. Ultimately, Christian emptying does not mean erasing ourselves. It means emptying ourselves of the desire to be our own masters and yielding the center of our lives to Christ.