The last night Jesus was with the apostles in the upper room, He taught them one of the most important things of all: the way up in the Kingdom of God is down. The greatest among you will be the servant (Matthew 23:11). Jesus knew what was coming. He knew it was their last meal together, and He used it to show them something they would never forget.

In those days, guests bathed at home before dinner. But they wore sandals and walked dusty roads, so their feet were dirty when they arrived. A servant would be waiting with a basin and towels to wash them before the meal.

That night, the servant was missing. The water, the basin, and the towels were there. Each of the disciples looked at their feet and at each other. Nobody moved.

So Jesus got up, removed His outer garment, wrapped a towel around His waist, poured water into the basin, and washed every one of their feet. The Lord of glory, on His knees, doing the job nobody else would touch because they felt it was beneath them.

Then He sat back down and asked them:

(John 13:12-15 NKJV) "Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you."

This was the pattern of His entire life. Jesus was born in a stable, and laid in a feeding trough. As far as I know, He never owned a house. He told people to follow Him not because He was powerful, but because He was gentle and lowly.

(Matthew 11:28-29 NKJV) "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

The top man in God's kingdom is also the servant of all. That is the direct opposite of how this world works. Jesus taught it repeatedly. When the disciples were caught arguing on the road about who was the greatest, He sat them down and said plainly:

(Mark 9:35 NKJV) "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."

It is an upside down formula. The way up in the kingdom of God is down in the eyes of men. It is pride that makes us think that a job is beneath us and it has been around a long, long time. The first sin was not in the Garden of Eden. It was when Lucifer was lifted up in pride and decided he wanted to be equal with God.

(Isaiah 14:13-14 NKJV) "For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God... I will be like the Most High.'"

He was a created being, likely the praise and worship leader of heaven, and his own beauty corrupted him. He led a third of the angels in a revolt and was cast out. Later in the garden, he told Eve she could be like God. Same bait. Same hook. It worked on him, and it worked on her.

Our default condition is pride, and most of the earth is covered in it.

(Proverbs 16:18 NKJV) "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."

(James 4:6 NKJV) "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

That second verse should stop you cold. God is not neutral about pride. He actively resists it. Pride will block anything good from God.

Also, I want to be clear about something. The Lord does not humble you. He will provide the opportunity, but you have to choose. If someone else humbles you, that is called humiliation. Only you can humble yourself.

I was in a small group meeting once, praying in a circle, and I heard a brother next to me praying for the Lord to humble him. He was doing well - making good money, opening a second business, well-liked, a big giver at church. Within about three months, his primary business dried up, the second one was foreclosed on, his friends turned away, and they had to move out of their house. Then they stopped coming to church altogether.

I am not saying God did that. But He allowed it, and no amount of praying, giving, or begging from our group changed a thing. The brother prayed for it, and he got it. There are better ways.

Before the Lord put me in my own computer business, I spent about a year in one of the dirtiest jobs I ever had: polishing brass at minimum wage. Every day I came home black as smut, and my skin started turning green from the brass dust. The year before, I had been a supervisor, coming home in clean clothes, earning three times as much.

When I began to fast and pray to get closer to God, the supervisor job was the first thing to go. As I prayed, the Holy Spirit made it plain that I had become prideful. I knew it was true. I was spoiled. I had a new house, a couple of boats, ATVs, three cars and a truck. He began stripping that away and taking me back to the basics a toy at a time.

God is more concerned about who you are than what you have. He can strip those away and add them back in an instant. He did it to Job. He did it to me.

At the brass plant, I could feel the Holy Spirit urging me to stay. So I gritted my teeth and stuck it out. In time, a revival broke out in that plant and several people came to know the Lord. Then He pushed me into my own computer business and things got crazy anointed fast. I seemed "gifted." Other technicians in the area started calling me for advice. It was the Holy Spirit raising me up, after the humbling season had done its work.

Humbling yourself leads to exaltation. The Lord raises you up. That is not a theory. I watched it happen.

Right before I became a pastor, we went to a church workday. By the time we arrived, the only job left was cleaning all the restrooms. Everyone had passed on it. People were painting, working on computers, straightening chairs.

I could feel the Holy Spirit giving me a choice. I had twenty years in computers. I had been a painting contractor. The prideful thoughts came: they don't know who I am. It would have been so easy to walk out.

I pushed those thoughts aside, rolled up my sleeves, put my audio Bible in my earphones, and embraced it. I pretended I was working directly for Jesus. I scrubbed the floors, walls, doors, sinks, toilets, and urinals until they shined and smelled like lemons. Then I went to the next one. I cleaned every restroom in the building, including ones I didn't know the church had.

The church secretary sent us a letter about our humility. A short while later, the Lord pushed me into full-time ministry.

Just like the disciples sitting in that upper room, unwilling to pick up the towel, you will face that same moment. The servants job will appear. The question is will it be beneath you.

The biblical method for humbling yourself is fasting, but certainly being the servant counts, just as Jesus did. Humility and fasting go hand in hand throughout Scripture.

(Ezra 8:21 NKJV) "Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God."

(Psalm 35:13 NKJV) David said: "I humbled myself with fasting."

I cannot fully explain why it works, but fasting subdues your rebellious nature and puts your spirit back in charge instead of your flesh. It forces your body to listen to you, instead of you to it. If you are wrestling with pride, it is the most direct tool the Bible gives you to deal with it.

Summary:

Pride goes before destruction. Humility goes before exaltation. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Fasting is a biblical way to humble yourself. Also, be a willing servant and do the job He puts in front of you, like it or not.

You will be given tests that expose deep-rooted pride. A lowly servant's position will appear. Know that it is the highest honor and the greatest opportunity the kingdom of God can offer you. It is your chance to be like Jesus.

If you are willing to be a servant, pray this with me:

Prayer

Prayer: Heavenly Father, let me see through Your eyes and spot the servant's job clearly when it appears. Speak to me, Lord. I am willing. Help me to serve others with a smile and to imitate Jesus in action, not just in words. Open my eyes to the pride in my life and give me the grace to deal with it. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!