King Benjamin was a wise man. I love to read his words in the Book of Mormon. As he neared the end of his life, he worked tirelessly to prepare his people. His example was a worthy example of the kind of person we would choose if we had to serve under a mortal man.

His successor Mosiah warned the people about the dangers of appointing a king in Mosiah 29. He said, “ 16  Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a king or kings to rule over you.

17  For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!

18  Yea remember king Noah, his wickedness and his abominations, and also the wickedness and abominations of his people. Behold what great destruction did come upon them; and also because of their iniquities they were brought into bondage.

 Sometimes that there are still people who would choose a king so that they would have someone to look to, to tell them what to do and then point the finger when there is a problem.

I think of the movie “Ever After”. Danielle, who was the rightful owner of the estate, was forced to work for her stepmother and stepsisters. They were cruel, manipulative and had only their own interests at heart. When I think of serving man, I think of this kind of situation; selfish, greedy kinds of masters that don’t care for those under their care.

On the other hand, I think back to King Benjamin. He was the greatest of their people and yet he spent his life serving others, caring for their physical and spiritual needs.  

I believe many of us can identify various supervisors in our work experience. We have had some who didn’t truly care about the employees but were there only to pick up a check. Others liked the power, control or sense of superiority they felt but there have also been amazing supervisors who try to help the employees stretch and grow to progress in their careers. There differences between these experiences are night and day. Depending on who we serve, our hearts could be loyal or apathetic.

The Lord is the kind of master I would serve with all my heart. He was and is concerned with the individual. He has given us laws and commandments not to intimidate or regulate our every move but to help us be happy and be able to stay close to him. Our welfare, our growing and progress are important to him. Our happiness is important to him. He accepts our blundered attempts at sharing the gospel or ministering. He accepts our efforts in our callings even when they fail. He not only recognizes our hearts but also the experiences of our life that made our path more challenging. He takes into account our whole person, not just the work to do. I would choose Him over anyone else, time and time again. How thankful I am to know that He is my judge, and not man.

“We show that we serve the Lord by the way in which we live the commandments received from Him, by the work we do to help establish the kingdom of God on earth, and by the way we act towards our neighbor…When we love God, serve the Lord sincerely, and give up the things of this world, we become true followers of Christ.”1

There are times in life when we serve mankind not as a slave or employee but as a light-bearer. It is part of our calling as members of His church. As we do so with all our hearts, we will always be in the service of our God.

1 “Serving the Lord”, Elder Adhemar Damiani, General Conference, October 1999