Click to watch Gotta Serve Somebody
“You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you may like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Yes indeed, you’re gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” © Bob Dylan 1979
Do you know the song?
Bob Dylan gave his life to Christ and in 1979 came out with an album called, Slow Train Comin’. What a great album. Gotta Serve Somebody was certainly one of the hits on the album. The message is very simply – No matter who you are you have to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
I thought of this song recently when I read Luke 4 about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness by Satan. I have been asking the Lord to help me see a pattern in this encounter – higher level issues we can identify with in our lives. The obvious lesson we need to take away from Jesus’ interaction with His enemy was the fact that Jesus refuted every temptation of the enemy with scriptural Truth.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Three enticements, three truths with which Jesus responded to the enemy’s temptation.
So, are there 3 key temptations that we similarly face? Yes, I think there are…
It all has to do with who you’re gonna serve – because you gotta serve somebody.
The first temptation is to use the gifts God has given us to serve ourselves. Satan was tempting Jesus to use His gifts and abilities to serve Himself. “Turn these stones into bread.” No, I am not going to use my talents and gifts to feed myself. I am going to feed on the Word of God was His reply.
All of us have that same temptation: Will you use your gifts and abilities to feed yourself? Will you use what God has given you to get the approval, the affirmation, the validation, the encouragement, the support, the love that you long for? Or, will you find your life only in God, in His words of life? Will you believe what He says is true, or will you look for the approval of others?
Will you use your gifts to serve yourself, or to serve others?
The second temptation is to serve the enemy, not God. Will you use all that you are and all that you have to build God’s Kingdom, or the enemy’s Kingdom? Do you want the fame and fortune this world/the ruler of this world has to offer at the expense of the life God has for us and for others through us? What does it profit a man to gain the world, but lose his soul?
Are you serving the enemy by pursuing the things of this world?
The third temptation is very subtle: it’s to get God to serve us. Do you expect God to do what you think He should do? Do you expect that if you do certain things then God should do certain things? A+B=C? Hey God, I have done this and this and this, you should be doing this for me – you owe me! That is expecting God to serve you.
Do you expect God to serve you?
We can choose to serve ourselves. We can choose to serve the enemy. We can choose to expect God to serve us. But none of those leads to life. Only one road leads to life, and that is choosing to serve God.
As Bob Dylan so eloquently stated, you’re gonna have to serve somebody. The devil wants you to serve him, serve yourself or expect God to serve you, but life is only found in serving God. Serving God is that for which we have been created.
Gotta serve somebody: let’s serve the One who gives life.
John 12:25, 26
“Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
John 14:23
“Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’”
Luke 4:8
“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’””