God has revealed the secret to personal fulfillment and success, but most of us have missed it. In our materialistic society, we are trained to "grab all you can" and "look out for number one." Our noble concepts of the "rugged individualist" and the "self-made man" miss a critical truth.

    Even in the church, we tend to focus on leadership, being "true to ourselves" and finding our ministry. Rick Warren, author of best-seller The Purpose-Driven Life, points out that instead of simply calling someone a "servant," we feel compelled to use the paradoxical phrase "servant leader."

    History and Scripture stand against this wave of self-satisfaction. Samuel stated his posture to God's call by replying, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening!" (1 Samuel 3:9-10). Eminent 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon urges us to "serve all your life," and contemporary teacher John Maxwell says, "The first step to leadership is servanthood."

    In my own life, there was a time when many people considered my ministry highly successful, yet I was personally defeated.I was burned out, empty, and miserable. From the outside, I appeared to be doing everything right. I was preaching the Gospel, fulfilling the Great Commission, and building a ministry. But on the inside, everything was wrong. I was out of fellowship with God, tormented by impure thoughts, and headed for destruction.

    Then, just as David cried out from the "pit," I begged the Lord to deliver me, which He did. He set my feet on the firm foundation of His truth. In this process, I've come to understand the significance of Jesus' statement that the servant is greatest of all. (Matthew 23:11) Ministry must be centered around purpose, not personality.

    Once I grasped this concept, I began to look for people I could help. If a marriage was faltering, I wanted to help that couple rediscover their love. If a pastor struggled with sin, I wanted to help him overcome. If a child needed food or water, I wanted to meet that need. In serving others, I developed new relationships with people. As my role became "lesser," in a sense God received greater glory.

    As I humbled myself to serve other people, I experienced the reality of Matthew 25:40: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (NIV). Jesus gave His life for these people, so I began to give my life to them. In return, He began giving His abundant life to me.

    By losing my life for His sake, I have found life again. By becoming His servant to the helpless people throughout the world, I have found personal and professional fulfillment and success.

    Yes, in this materialistic society, it is easy to put our needs above the needs of others. But Jesus always put others before Himself, and He expects us to follow His example.

Transformed by Serving

    When I met missionary Peter Pretorius on a trip to South Africa, his testimony had a transforming effect on me. He told of his success as a prestigious tobacco farmer and racecar driver who lived life totally for himself. That was before he decided to share God's message with people in neighboring Mozambique.

    When he travelled there to arrange a series of evangelistic meetings, his drivers failed to return for him at the appointed time. What was supposed to have been a 48-hour trip lasted over a week. During his unexpected stay, Peter saw unimaginable suffering. People were literally dying at his feet. Every day another 20 to 25 malnourished adults and children were buried. Peter helped an elderly man find a resting place against a tree and went to get water for him. He wept when he came back and discovered the man was already dead.   

    Returning home to South Africa, Peter asked friends and neighbors to help buy food for these people. He rented a truck to transport provisions into Mozambique, and so began his first extensive feeding program. At his invitation, my wife Betty and I went to witness the operation—and saw some of the most unbelievable scenes we'd ever encountered. Little ones, covered in dirt, wearing stained clothing worn to shreds, looked at us shyly. Many exhibited the danger signs of malnutrition: bloated tummies, patches of orange discoloration in the hair, and open sores on the legs. Their smiles drew our eyes from their rags to the anticipation on their faces. Once we initiated personal contact, many soon wanted to hold hands and embrace.

    Thousands of children lined the road as our team set up to feed them a vitamin-rich meal the consistency of oatmeal. They were so happy to get this basic need met.

    Upon returning home, Betty and I knew God wanted us to be involved with this project—to give of our own finances and inspire others to support what these missionaries lay down their lives to do every day. My job was to make Christians aware of how much can be done with so little.

The Purpose for Giving

    The Scriptures place the primary focus on the joy of giving, not on the return. (Acts 20:35) Jesus offers us the supreme example of what it means to give: He gave His life for us, knowing there was nothing we could give Him in return. It is an honor that our Creator allows us to express His nature by serving others. He owes us nothing for our obedience. We owe Him everything for Christ's obedience in His death and resurrected life.

    While Jesus did state that He came to give us "life more abundantly," many people mistakenly believe that Jesus came to give us abundance in life instead of abundance of life. God is not opposed to our having things, but He is deeply concerned that things not have us. His rewards far exceed the value of anything earthly and temporal. He may give us the means to afford a new car or nice home, but He is most interested in giving us a new spirit and eternal home. He's also interested in blessing us so we can in turn bless others.

    People often question our motivation for sharing food with starving people in Africa. Is it a social gospel? Are we proselytizing? Do we have some other hidden agenda?

    The answer is simple. We feed the hungry because we genuinely love the people we serve. If they never gave us a chance to talk about God's love, we would still do everything possible to help them. Yet because of our genuine love for these people and our willingness to serve them, relationships develop. These relationships make the program successful and frequently open up individuals and nations to hear the Gospel. African governments have reported to our mission overseers that we have helped save more than 4 million children's lives. During the same time, we have witnessed more than 5 million commitments to Christ in the areas where we serve.

The Power of One

    Can one person dedicated to servanthood make a difference? Absolutely. We recently received a letter from a man living in rural Pennsylvania. He included a check to pay for drilling a water well in a needy area of the world. The writer detailed the amazing story of faithfulness and teamwork leading up to the contribution. Ten years earlier, his family of five (including three small children) enrolled in the "Adopt A Highway" program. Together, they donned work gloves and began picking up trash from the side of the road, separating recyclable goods from the remaining waste.

    A couple of years ago, the family heard there was a way to provide fresh water to poor communities overseas. They decided to save all proceeds from their recycling efforts to sponsor an entire well. That's when things took off.

    A woman from their church mentioned the family's project in the church bulletin. Then, as the father described, "an explosion of aluminum happened." Members of the church began recycling. People they had never met brought them crushed cans. Contractors delivered scrap aluminum from job sites. Bible study groups donated cash. A retired minister collected every can he saw, right up to his death. In a short time, the family had raised $3,600 for the well.

    "To think God can take a few soda and beer cans thrown out along a rural highway and turn them into clean, safe drinking water for people is just awesome," he wrote. Indeed, when we adopt a servant's heart, God does awesome things.

True Prosperity

    The Pennsylvania man and his neighbors realized a richness many people would normally overlook. He observed, "The grass is green, the corn is higher than it should be this time of year, we are well-fed, we have better-than-average public schools, we can go to church any time we want, we have more Bibles than we can use . . . The blessings go on and on."

    Notice that he did not ask, "Where's the hundred-fold return on our money?" Nor did he follow up with, "We just won the lottery!" Rather, he just looked around and saw God's blessings everywhere.

    This is the kind of fulfillment a job or accomplishment cannot provide. It is the reason Jesus instructs us to "store up . . . treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:20)—He understands the eternal, immeasurable value of love-motivated servanthood. As we learn to release everything to God's kingdom purpose, we cannot stop the return of His eternal blessings. This is true prosperity and success in life. This is servanthood.

James Robison is the founder and president of LIFE Outreach International. His new book is titled True Prosperity.