Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. Matthew 6:1, NIV
“YOUR MOTHER DOESN’T WORK HERE!”
A sign bearing these words hung in the teachers’ lounge. But apparently, not everyone read it.
We had a very small sink for a large staff, and too many people frequently left their dirty dishes in the sink when they were in a hurry. It got to be ridiculous. And everyone (including me) started complaining.
Then, one day I found myself in the lounge with no one else around. The smelly dishes were there in the sink and I had a few minutes to myself. I asked myself, What would Jesus do? And then, you guessed it, I washed the dishes. At the time, I didn’t tell anyone that I did it. Only Jesus knew.
There are often opportunities, small and large, for us to do something good, take responsibility for someone else’s failures, or make life easier for someone else. When faced with these choices, do we look the other way and complain along with everyone else? Or, do we pick up the “towel” and accept the role of servant?
This week, let’s see how many opportunities we can find to serve Christ in secret!
Lord, You have cleaned up so much “dirt” in my life. Please show me what dirty mess I can tackle for You. Amen.
Copyright Shirley Wilson.
Shirley is a retired member and former board member of Christian Educators.
4 Responses
Oh, Shirley, that’s fabulous and great timing. I love the meme about straightening another woman’s crown without telling anyone. This is exactly what responsible people do. May we be them, may we train them, and may we be surrounded by them.
Diana, yes! God loves it when we have servant’s hearts!
Wow Shirley, this went deep into my heart. “Make the rough places smooth,” the prophet said. You remind me that annoyance at other’s rough places is an indicator of rough places of my own. A servant’s response smooths out both!
His ways are so much higher than ours!