Do you ever say something without really thinking about it and find yourself amazed by how true it is? One evening this week my husband played with Thistle until she was at least a little bit worn out (no mean feat!). She flopped down on the dining room rug and he brought her a bowl of water, which she lapped eagerly. Of course, she could have walked just a few feet to reach the bowl on her own.
We laughed at how the water was apparently better when it was delivered. I said, “Everyone likes to be served.” Hey. That’s true. I like to be served, whether by a waiter in a restaurant or my husband in our house. My husband likes to be served. My friends like to be served. It’s nice to be served!
Which made me think. How am I serving people? Galatians 5:13-14 says “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
If God has given me the ability to write (or cook, or speak, or love), it’s not for my sake–it’s for His. I struggle to keep my pride in check. I’m too much like the disciples arguing about who gets to sit next to Jesus in heaven. I need to be more like Jesus, washing his disciples feet.
If my writing doesn’t serve God and my neighbor, I hope it fails. That’s hard to say. But I know that if I’m not doing God’s work . . .
John 13:12-17 – When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.