I Am Your Fellow Servant

Revelation 22:8
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.

Revelation 22:9
But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

Psalms 8:4-5
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.

John the Revelator or the writer of Revelation was shown many things in vision by God. At the end of the book of Revelation, which is the last book of the Bible, John is shown the new heavens and new earth where the righteous shall live with God forever. An angel of God frequently came to John to make things clear. Therefore as the Revelation comes to an end and John knows the angel is about to depart, he bows down to worship the angel. The angel immediately stops John from that worship. The angel tells John to only worship God since an angel is a servant of God just like John. I am your fellow servant!

The angel tells John that I am no different from you and all other servants of God like you. We are all serving God. I am your fellow servant!

The angel has never committed any sin and is therefore humanly speaking better placed spiritually than John. The angel accesses God’s throne physically while John doesn’t. The angel flies from heaven to earth, back and forth and John is presently as he writes limited to a prison island of Patmos. The angel according to the Psalms passage cited above is better than John. We human beings were created less than angels, below angels. Angels are placed above human beings scripturally. Angels have some supernatural powers. Angels are better than us in many ways. John had every reason to be tempted to worship this angel. Then the angel reminded John that being superior does not mean the angel should be worshipped. I am your fellow servant!

Many fellow servants are superior to us, but we should not worship them, we should only worship God. Many fellow servants are religious leaders and we are not. Many fellow servants are highly educated and we are not. Many fellow servants understand scriptures and as the angel explained to John, they explain to us tough things which we do not know. Many fellow servants have more money than us. Many fellow servants have more experience than us. Many fellow servants have a higher position of decision making than us. Many fellow servants have power over us. Many fellow servants are highly authoritative. Many fellow servants have better character and Christianity than us. Many fellow servants pray more and study the Bible more than us. The angel was way better than John as some people are way better than us, yet the angel refused to be worshipped. I am your fellow servant!

When the inferior, so to speak, shouts at the superior that you are my fellow-servant, it may seem abusive and envy driven. The superior, so to speak, if guided by God should be the one to humbly refuse any treatment that has a semblance of being worshipped. It is the angel who stopped John from worshipping. It is the superior who should stop the inferior from worshipping them. “Do not do that!… Worship God!” The angel stops John with stern language. High tone orders. The onus of stopping the people worship culture is on the superior. The angel refused to be worshipped. I am your fellow servant!

Acts 12:22-23 tells us that when Herod allowed people to worship him instead of God, God struck him and killed him on the spot. It is dangerous to accept to be worshipped. If the angel did not allow it, we should not allow it. If it killed Herod, it can kill us. Always remember that in all our superiority over others, we can’t surpass the angel who refused John’s worship, we are just fellow servants. I am your fellow servant!

How do people address you? Do you deserve it? Are you comfortable with people showing you unusual respect? There is a type of respect that each community sets as a standard and you must deserve it and not ask for more. You are just a fellow servant. Do you conduct yourself in a manner to instill fear in those beneath you? When you instill fear and cause others to consequently worship you, you are sinning against God. God can read the motive of your decisions and conduct which are intended to make those under you to worship or “worship” you. Both are wrong. The angel refused to be worshipped yet in every way he was superior and better than John. I am your fellow servant!

Did you know that unless we deliberately do it as the angel did, people will worship us? Instead of showing conventional respect, they will worship us. Students will easily worship the teacher. Workers will easily worship their bosses. Soldiers will worship the commander. The crowd will worship the talented. A spouse can easily worship another spouse who has leverage. Children can easily worship their parents, guardians, and sponsors. The public will easily worship their various heroes. Unless we are deliberate, our education, money, position, and ability to harm can cause us to be worshipped. God will punish the worshipped first and the worshipper later. The angel was wise and we too should be wise and refuse to create an environment of being worshipped. We must be as clear on our position as the angel was. I am your fellow servant!

Regardless of our superiority over others, we serve the same God. God made angels and He made human beings. God deliberately made angels higher than human beings. Angels should not forget that God made them what they are. Angels should not look down upon human beings because they are both God’s creation and they serve the same God. God made both the superior and the inferior. None should by any circumstances worship the other. We are fellow servants and only God deserves worship. I am your fellow servant!

Thank you, God, for making me superior in some ways and inferior in some ways. May I never worship another servant however superior, but only You. May I never accept worship whether directly or indirectly, whether by my initiation or by the other person’s fear or admiration of me. Remind me every day to be humble and that I am a fellow servant to the superior and inferior, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

Note: For those who have been following these articles keenly, we have been deriving our reading from a different Bible book every day and for the third time in a row, we have completed all Bible books. During this third round, we have been studying the last chapter of each Bible book from Genesis, and today we are in Revelation. Tomorrow we will begin a new journey again through scripture to get a daily message from a Bible book every day. If you scroll further down as you read any article at reikesis.com, you will find a place where you can subscribe and daily receive these articles (Subscribe to my newsletter). You will also find a place you can write a comment to that article and read the comments of others. Thank you for not plagiarising. Thank you for your support in sharing these messages with others…Congratulations to you!