Servanthood - an application

I have been working for nearly 9 years in the IT (Information Technology) industry - not sure if that makes me a veteran, since things move so quickly in technology... anyways, the last 3 of those years I have been working through the concept of faith and work, and how it all applies. Here's a distillation of my thinking:

*Jesus Christ came not to be served, but to serve... (Matthew 20:28)

*He calls his followers to be servants...(1 Peter 2:16)

*The IT Industry is one of many service industries (including the more established legal and accounting professions), and a key discipline in IT according to the ITIL standard is Service Management, with the main function being the IT Service Desk (traditionally "Help Desk").

*My training and experience to-date has focussed in on the Customer Service side of IT as opposed to Application Development or Project Management.

*All IT jobs in some way should serve the business it supports - without the business needs/problems, IT simply would not exist.

*IT in a very real way exists to redeem people from the curse of technology - analogical to Jesus' redemption of man from the curse of sin (am I starting to draw too long a bow here??)

*This is where IT workers can find their meaning and motivation - they shadow in their day-to-day service to others the Servanthood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are some pitfalls here:

*Technology itself can be a harsh master, but used well it is a great servant;

*IT workers need to keep in mind that they serve the business, and the business doesn't serve them;

*Service is also a lot broader than IT - it is a whole-life attitude, that in the words of Oswald Chambers: "[a servant is] one who becomes broken bread and poured out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for other lives" (My Utmost for His Highest, February 25th entry).

May we all live sacramental lives of service in His Name...Amen.