I Am Your Servant...

Hey, Y'all,

Been a funny few weeks--I keep running across events and quotes and thoughts related to this topic. Unfortunately, they're numerous and often anonymous or unattributed so there's no easy way to cite them all; this RST is an amalgam of all of that--and in fact since I had an interesting experience recently along these lines myself, we'll start this posting with that story.

Someone did something that imposed on me. You know what I mean, nothing major, but something that knocks you out of that nice comfy groove of your life and that is somewhat irritating and and inconvenient, and makes you think to yourself, "You know, I really shouldn't have to deal with this; it's annoying."

So I was maybe a little grumpy about it (yeah, I know, y'all are doubtless shocked beyond words at that :-) and I even mentioned it to God--"What's the deal, Man? Why do I have to deal with this? Shouldn't I just be able to say 'Begone!' and let them figure it out and deal with it themselves?" So OK, maybe not the most eloquent prayer ever, but I do get points for honesty (and for checking in with The One who I can be certain understands the big picture better than I do). So that was my bedtime prayer that night -- nice, huh? :-) -- followed by a deep breath and the thought, "Alright, whatever, I'm going to try to leave this with You 'cause it's annoying the heck out of me and there is nothing I can do about it right at this moment anyway." So I fell asleep.

Next thing I know I'm waking up--always a joy I might add since I get up at "0-dark-thirty" every day, but the funny thing is that literally the very first coherent thought I had was, "I am your servant." Man! Clear as a bell, "I am your servant. How can I serve you?" As I struggled toward, you know, actual consciousness, slowly reconnecting fuzzy synapses and trying to de-addle my brain, the thought struck me: "I think I just heard from God!" (holy crap!)(woops, I think) (indeed, another stellar eloquent prayer moment for me :-) -- "I think He just answered my prayer"--which I hadn't really articulated but which sounded something like, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

So there it was, again, clear as a bell, "I am your servant. How can I be of use you?" And it occurred to me that that should be my attitude toward this person who imposed on me, who, when all was said and done, fundamentally, was simply asking for my help with something. Something annoying, I'll remind you, kind reader, something that I should've been well within my rights to blow off or get irritated at. 'Course, the very next thought I had was that that should also be my attitude toward God, especially since, oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten, I say that I'm a CHRISTian, a follower of, a disciple of, a student of, an emulator of God as manifested in Christ.

In Philippians 2:3-11 we are told that Jesus, even though He was God, took the form of a servant. It's always interesting (and not infrequently a little sobering) to see His selflessness in comparison to the Devil who aspired to be served and positioned even above God (Isaiah14:12-14). We 'become closer to God'--both in 'proximity' and 'appearance'--by serving others; we demonstrate what God is like by serving others.

Perhaps this is what is meant when we read that the peace- and joy-filled 'Kingdom of God' is entirely different from the tyrannical and upside-down 'Kingdom of Man' which we currently inhabit, and that Jesus really was talking sense when He said that we indeed have it up-side-down: "He who would be first must be the servant of all," a concept which He then proceeded to put teeth on by getting down on his hands and knees in front of His disciples (including the one that He knew was literally in the middle of the very act of betraying Him) and washing their dirty feet before The Last Supper. Now THAT's powerful! It's just not a power that we readily recognize, appreciate, or are entirely comfortable with--especially when you consider (lest we get too smug) that that story is about you and me.

There's a quote that has always struck me (though I can't remember where I read it first):

"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting.
It has been found difficult and not tried."

What would your world look like if you treated your fellow human beings the way that Jesus treated his disciples? Imagine all the petty fights and hurt feelings, all of the actual suffering that would be relieved, if we truly lived up to our name: Christian.

You've been prayed for today...