To Be A Servant

"If you want to be important — wonderful. If you want to be recognized — wonderful. If you want to be great — wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness.

And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant."

~Martin Luther King, from his "Drum major Instinct" sermon


This is one of my favorite Dr. King quotes. He was a man that aspired. He aspired not to greatness or to be recognized, but to be a servant. A servant for the people he loved so very much. He aspired to change the world. To make it fair and make it new.

I am not a religious person, most of you know that, but even still Dr. King was inspiration. He was passionate sometimes to a fault and disliked by millions but his messages were right on. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be poor. You don't have to be rich. Everyone can be a servant. To a God or to their family or to the world. If only more people shared his passion.