The early church had a critical situation – they needed people to serve tables. The credentials listed in the selection process were pretty specific: good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom. Stephen was one of the seven men who met the standards (Acts 6-7).

I doubt there was a scramble to get in the application line.

People with servant hearts are obvious by the way they treat people, not by their prominence in public. When I was a chaplain to the Cleveland Indians, the security guards at the players’ parking lot next to the clubhouse entrance reserved a parking spot for my short locker room visits.

One day they said to me, “We can name the players involved in the team ministry.” They proceeded to name them. When I asked how they were so accurate, they said, “We can tell by the way they treat people.”

When Jesus’ disciples argued who the greatest was among them, He identified the greatest as the one who is a servant. Stephen was a great man because he was a servant.

Are you living in the shadows and wanting to be great? You will find it in being a servant. You may not be prominent in the world’s eyes, but you will be great in the eyes of the One who matters.

When we as Jesus’ followers arrive in heaven, we will be greeted with, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things …” (Matthew 25:21 NIV).