Thoughts On Being A Servant

I recently read Cure For The Common Life by Max Lucado. There's a lot of good take-away material from the book, but one topic got my attention (because I needed to hear it I'm sure). The book is about finding your place in life, figuring out what God has equipped you for, particurally work-wise, but Lucado included a chapter about the importance of being a servant regardless of your occupation. To quote Lucado:

"Don't be too big to do something small. Don't focus so much on what you love that you neglect what needs to be done. The world needs servants. It requires no specific skill set or degree."

He goes on to give three ways to practice serving: loving the overlooked, waving a white flag, and doing something everyday that you don't want to do. I was nodding my head and heart in agreement until that third one. Loving the overlooked sounds generous and compassionate and who doesn't want to be seen as generous and compassionate. Waving a white flag of peace sounds noble and just, which fits nicely with the image I want othes to have of me. But then we get to 'doing something everyday that I don't want to do', and that sounds down right hard and uninviting.

Suddenly the warm fuzzies are no where in sight and I realized that serving is not about making me look or feel good but about doing what needs to be done (in Jesus' name no less). Ouch. The practical application (for me, right now) came to mind almost immediately: wash dishes. Sounds simple. But I don't like washing dishes. My point exactly.