"Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to power is to choose to limit oneself-to serve." Sarayu to Mack in "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young
What a novel idea! Pondering to self, "choose to limit oneself." But, but . . ."I am MENSA material. My IQ is over 150. I graduated Summa Cum Laude. I have an Ivy League education. I would never limit myself when I've been taught to be all I can be; the sky is the limit! It's a competitive world. I must show them who I am!" . . . one might say.
That quote takes a direct hit on our accomplishments and accolades. They mean nothing unless in service to others. To serve is what we are called to do. But, before we can genuinely serve, we must be in relationship together. God put us on this earth to serve just as the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28) When you are in true service to others, all pretentiousness, airs, aristocracy, superiority and self-obsession is nonexistent.
In service to others, you will hear conversations in broken English and grammar. You are not judgmental but seek to understand what is being said because all you want to do is help. To pray for wisdom in any given circumstance is spontaneous because you feel the pain of those you are serving.
As supported by the opening quote, you are not eager to flash your credentials and prove how much you know about anything. Your heart's desire when you serve is to obliterate the misery, discomfort, poverty, hunger, pain, and emptiness of the person we see with our heart, and not our natural eyes.
Even among our peers, we can choose to limit ourselves-to serve. There is no lack of amusement in witnessing two highly intellectuals trying to prove who is the most intelligent in an argument. The will to power is greater than their desire to concede. Both feel they must be served instead of in service to each other.
Christ washed His disciples' feet to show them He did not think the Master was greater than the servant. He too, was a servant. One cannot truthfully deny Christ as the perfect example of how important it is for us to form relationships. There is true equality in real relationships, not a hierarchy. He tells us how to be husbands, wives, children, employers, employees, friends and neighbors by the short recordings of the life He lived.
Let us not make it a
now or never decision to get into relationship with the needy but rather a
now and right now decision. Having personal needs would make it an ideal time to reach out to others. I have read many stories of people who were down to their last dollar but gave it to help someone else. Miraculously, they received a one-hundred-fold blessing for being a blessing. It has happened to me, too.
It is when we give that we receive. We can never repay Christ with our money and time. He wants us to help Him spread His love to each other. We can never purchase a blessing but we can serve. The Bible says we are not to be hardhearted and tightfisted toward our brothers. (Deuteronomy 15:7) "It is not the nature of love to force a relationship but is it the nature of love to open a way." Papa to Mack, in "The Shack"
William Penn would agree, I suspect since it was he who said: "I expect to pass through this life but once. If, therefore there can be any kindness I can show or any good thing I can do for any fellow being let me do it now...as I shall not pass this way again."
Copyright 2008 by Avis Ward of
GeoVi's Home for Pregnant Teens
