Service feels backward in a culture obsessed with being served. We’re conditioned to climb ladders, accumulate power, and position ourselves above others rather than beneath them. The idea of serving sounds noble until it requires scrubbing toilets, staying late to help someone else, or putting someone’s needs ahead of your own agenda. Serving costs pride, time, and the recognition we think we deserve. It’s messy, often thankless, and completely countercultural.
Jesus turned everything upside down when He washed His disciples’ feet and declared that the greatest among us is the servant of all. He didn’t just teach servanthood as a nice idea; He embodied it completely, coming not to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom. The King of the universe took the form of a servant, and He calls His followers to do the same. In God’s kingdom, leadership looks like service, greatness is measured by humility, and the path to being first is willingly becoming last.
These verses challenge our natural self-centeredness and invite us into the radical upside-down kingdom where serving others is the highest calling and most Christ-like activity we can pursue.
Bible Verses About Serving Others
1. Mark 10:45 – To Serve, and to Give His Life
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
New International Version (NIV)
2. Galatians 5:13 – Serve One Another Humbly in Love
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. 1 Peter 4:10 – Each of You Should Use Whatever Gift
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
New King James Version (NKJV)
4. Matthew 20:26-27 – Whoever Wants to Become Great
But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5. John 13:14-15 – Now That I Have Washed Your Feet
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Romans 12:11 – Never Be Lacking in Zeal
not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Colossians 3:23-24 – Whatever You Do, Work at It
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
King James Version (KJV)
8. Philippians 2:3-4 – In Humility Value Others Above Yourselves
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. Matthew 23:11 – The Greatest Among You Will Be Your Servant
Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant.
The Message (MSG)
10. 1 Corinthians 9:19 – I Have Made Myself a Servant to All
For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Acts 6:3 – Choose Seven Men Who Are Known to Be Full
But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task.
New English Translation (NET)
12. Luke 22:26 – The One Who Leads Should Be Like One Who Serves
But it must not be like that among you. Instead, whoever is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and whoever leads, like the one serving.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Joshua 24:15 – Choose for Yourselves This Day Whom You Will Serve
But if you don’t want to worship the LORD, then choose right now! Will you worship the same idols your ancestors did? Or since you’re living on land that once belonged to the Amorites, maybe you’ll worship their gods. I won’t. My family and I are going to worship and obey the LORD!
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Romans 12:10-11 – Love One Another with Brotherly Affection
Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Outdo one another in showing honor. Don’t let your hard work get you down. Serve the Lord with all your heart.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
15. Ephesians 6:7 – Serve Wholeheartedly, as if You Were Serving
serving with goodwill, as to the Lord and not to men.
New King James Version (NKJV)
16. Hebrews 6:10 – God Is Not Unjust
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
New International Version (NIV)
17. 1 Corinthians 10:24 – No One Should Seek Their Own Good
Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
English Standard Version (ESV)
18. Matthew 25:35-36 – I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food
For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.
New King James Version (NKJV)
19. 1 Timothy 6:18 – Command Them to Do Good
Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.
New Living Translation (NLT)
20. Romans 15:1-2 – We Who Are Strong Ought to Bear
Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
21. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Therefore Encourage One Another
Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
22. Proverbs 11:25 – A Generous Person Will Prosper
The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
King James Version (KJV)
23. Hebrews 13:16 – Do Not Neglect to Do Good
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
24. Luke 6:38 – Give and It Will Be Given to You
Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing.
The Message (MSG)
25. Philippians 2:7 – He Made Himself Nothing
But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
26. Acts 20:35 – It Is More Blessed to Give
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
New English Translation (NET)
27. 1 Peter 5:2-3 – Shepherd God’s Flock
shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
28. Proverbs 3:27 – Do Not Withhold Good
Don’t fail to help your neighbors when you can do it.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
29. 1 Corinthians 12:5 – There Are Different Kinds of Service
There are different kinds of service. But they all come from the same Lord.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
30. Matthew 5:41 – If Anyone Forces You to Go One Mile
And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
New King James Version (NKJV)
31. 2 Corinthians 9:12 – This Service That You Perform
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
New International Version (NIV)
32. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 – Your Labor Prompted by Love
remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
English Standard Version (ESV)
33. James 2:17 – Faith by Itself, If It Is Not Accompanied by Action
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
New King James Version (NKJV)
34. Romans 16:1-2 – I Commend to You Our Sister Phoebe
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.
New Living Translation (NLT)
35. 1 Peter 4:11 – If Anyone Serves, They Should Do So
If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Serving Others
Serving others is the clearest demonstration of Christ-like character. Jesus didn’t just talk about servanthood; He embodied it perfectly, from washing feet to dying on a cross. In a world obsessed with status and position, Jesus modeled power expressed through service, authority demonstrated through humility, and greatness measured by how many people you lift rather than how many you climb over. His upside-down kingdom turns worldly values on their heads.
What challenges me most about biblical servanthood is how it requires dying to self. Serving means putting others first, choosing their good over my convenience, and finding joy in making someone else successful. It’s not glamorous. Most service happens in small, unnoticed ways that earn no applause. But Scripture repeatedly teaches that this hidden, humble service is precisely what pleases God and builds His kingdom.
The most encouraging truth about serving others is that we’re never serving alone. When we serve people, we’re serving Christ Himself. Every act of service, no matter how small or insignificant it seems, has eternal value because it’s done unto the Lord. God notices, God rewards, and God is glorified when His people reflect His servant heart to the world.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, forgive me for the ways I’ve chased recognition, status, and being served rather than serving. My natural tendency is to position myself above others instead of beneath them. Transform my heart to reflect Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve and give His life for others.
Show me opportunities to serve today. Open my eyes to needs I typically walk past, people I usually overlook, and tasks I consider beneath me. Help me to serve with joy rather than resentment, to give without expecting recognition, and to find satisfaction in making others successful rather than advancing myself.
Give me the humility to serve in hidden ways, the faithfulness to serve consistently, and the love to serve wholeheartedly. Help me remember that when I serve others, I’m serving You, and that You notice every act of service even when no one else does.
Make me more like Jesus, who washed feet and gave His life. Let my life be marked by the kind of servanthood that points people to You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.