Everybody can be great because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve… You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.

Martin Luther King Jr.

A Heart Full of Grace

Topic: Serving Others

And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, as Michael Luther King Jr., but later changed his name to Martin. He came from a family of pastors, with his grandfather and father both serving as pastors at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Martin Luther King Jr. attended segregated public schools and graduated from high school at the age of fifteen. He went on to earn his B.A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, where his father and grandfather had also graduated.

After completing three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary, where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, King received his B.D. degree in 1951. He then pursued graduate studies at Boston University, where he met and married Coretta Scott. King completed his doctorate in 1955 and had two sons and two daughters with Coretta. Throughout his life, Martin Luther King Jr. played a crucial role in the civil rights movement, advocating for racial equality and justice through nonviolent means. His leadership and inspiring speeches, such as his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, made him a prominent figure in the fight against segregation and discrimination. In 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to promote peaceful change and equality for African Americans. Tragically, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, but his legacy as a champion of civil rights continues to inspire people around the world.

(1929-1968) Christianity

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [The Drum Major Instinct (1968) Sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia (4 February 1968)].

Martin Luther King Jr.

Theme: Serving

About This Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotation [Commentary]

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve,” redefine greatness as service rather than personal achievement. Dr. King emphasizes that greatness is universally accessible, requiring no academic qualifications or social status, only “a heart full of grace” and “a soul generated by love.” This vision invites everyone to find significance in serving others, showing that the path to greatness lies in humility and compassion rather than external measures of success.

In his “Drum Major Instinct” sermon, Dr. King expands on this idea by urging his audience to align their lives with service instead of self-centered ambition. Drawing from the teachings of Jesus, he highlights that true greatness comes through servanthood: “He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.” By reframing power and influence as opportunities to act with love and justice, Dr. King assures his listeners that this kind of greatness is available to all. It does not rely on resources or intellect but on the human heart’s capacity to serve with love.

Reflecting on his own legacy, Dr. King expressed a desire to be remembered not for accolades but for his efforts to love, serve, and uplift others. For him, the measure of a meaningful life was in service—feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, visiting the imprisoned, and standing for justice. By encouraging a life rooted in grace and love, Dr. King inspires individuals to live with purpose and contribute to the common good, showing that to serve is to truly be great.

The Drum Major Instinct (1968)

Sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia (4 February 1968) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Drum Major Instinct” sermon was an adaptation of the 1952 homily ‘‘Drum-Major Instincts’’ by J. Wallace Hamilton, a well-known, liberal, white Methodist preacher. King encouraged his congregation to seek greatness, but to do so through service and love. King concluded the sermon by imagining his own funeral, downplaying his famous achievements, and emphasizing his heart to do right.

“Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life’s final common denominator—that something we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. And I don’t think of it in a morbid sense. Every now and then I ask myself, “What is it that I would want said?” And I leave the word to you this morning.
If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize, that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards, that’s not important. Tell him not to mention where I went to school.
I’d like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that’s all I want to say.”

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [The Drum Major Instinct (1968) Sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia (4 February 1968)].

A Heart Full of Grace

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