Have you seen that show called “Dirty Jobs” on the Discovery Channel?  It’s always interesting to see what kind of dirty job they’re going to show next.  If you who haven’t seen it, that’s the show where the host, Mike Rowe, goes around the country to do some of the most dirty jobs there are along side those who’ve chosen to make those jobs their profession.  That show has featured everything from sewer inspectors, to people who work at landfills, to people who build roads, to people who make cranberry jam (it’s messier than it sounds) – and everything in between.  I know that most of those jobs are the last thing I’d want to wake up every morning to go do.

Sometimes God gives us a job to do that might be kind of similar to some of those jobs – the hard or dirty jobs that not many people are willing to tackle.

If God called us to serve in dirty places, or serve dirty people, where there isn’t much glamor or notoriety – would we serve humbly and joyfully there, if we even served at all?  I think most of us would say that we would, myself included.  But sometimes I wonder if I’d be able to serve in an uncomfortable, dirty job with joy and humility.  I might be apt to complain a bit, or be disappointed that I wasn’t involved in something, well, less dirty.

Being a servant basically comes down to the greatest commandment – love the Lord with all your heart, and love your neighbor.  We’ve all heard this many, many times.     It sounds so simple, but that whole loving your neighbor part – you know, loving even that impatient guy in the car behind you at the light who is laying on his horn, cursing aloud about you turning left (because he’s so passionate about it you can read his lips), or that kid at school who keeps talking smack about you, or that fellow member of the church committee we serve on that we have a major disagreement with – that can be difficult.

However, if our service to others is about serving God, and loving Him – and not about our need for some sort of notoriety, our need for people to think well of us, our need to be right, or our need to be comfortable – in other words, if we have the proper perspective – then loving our neighbor and serving our neighbor humbly and joyfully becomes easier.

Paul writes about love in Romans chapter 12, verses 9 through 14, and I believe that the principles he speaks of in this passage of scripture also apply when we are in service to others.  It says:

9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

Oswald Chambers wrote in the devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest, “The power of the saint lies in the coming down and the living that is done in the valley.  Paul said ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) and what he was referring to were mostly humiliating things.”

Brothers and sisters, Jesus didn’t promise us glamor or notoriety for being one of His servants.  May we – may I – remember that even though I may be placed into serving others by doing one of those unwanted dirty jobs, that it is an honor and a privilege to do that job.  May I humbly go where I am called to serve, and may I do so with joy and a loving heart.  Amen.

Thoughtlessness seems so pervasive in our world.  The scenarios play themselves out in the news everyday.  How many times have we said to ourselves after reading such accounts, “If they had only taken a moment to think…”

But how often do we look at ourselves and say that?  How many times do we act thoughtlessly and unwisely?  How many times do we squander opportunities to do good?

Ephesians 5 verses 15 through 17 says, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

I can think of times in my own life when I have chosen to participate in gossip, when in hindsight I probably could have stopped it altogether.  I can think of instances when I have had the means to help someone in need and thoughtlessly have chosen not to.  I can think of a lot of times, recently even, where, instead of listening the what God would have me to do, I’ve foolishly done what I want to do, and rightfully suffered the consequences of doing those things.

Why do I act this way?  My standards should be higher!  I should be living a thoughtful, Godly life.

I am a fallen, broken human being, and as much as I would like to be, I’m never going to be perfect on my own merit.

Father God, thank you for Your grace.  Thank you for the unending forgiveness when I fall short of the standards You have asked me to live up to.  Help me to be thoughtful, to do good, and to listen to what you would want me to do.

Life gives us many challenges, and it isn’t always fair. Sometimes we are faced with situations where we are treated badly. Sometimes those people intentionally treat us badly; other times, they may do so without realizing it.

When we’re treated (we feel) unfairly, some of us choose to talk to the person we feel has wronged us. Some of us let it slide a couple of times, and then tell the people, “Hey, that’s not cool.” Others of us don’t say anything and let our hurt build up until the point that we cut off ties with those people.

In the last case, are those of us who don’t say anything partially to blame for the demise of that relationship?

You can’t have any sort of relationship, be it professional, friendship, romantic, whatever without communication. If nobody knows how you feel, especially the person who you have a grievance with, how are they to know they need to correct their behavior, and/or apologize?

If you feel like someone has done you wrong, or if you have issue with them, don’t let those feelings bottle up inside until you explode or just quit talking to them. You have to tell them.

When we don’t tell people when we feel we’ve been wronged, it starts to skew our perspective, which in turn causes dissension and separation. We start to see the annoyances, the problems, and the hurts, and put blinders up to all of the good things and the love that is there, which begins to unravel the unity that exists.

Are you in a situation in your church, your workplace, or your home where you feel like you’ve been wronged? Are you talking about how you feel to those whom have been unkind or unfair to you? Do you see the good things about the people in that place, or do you just see the injustice? What is your perspective?

Sometimes I really think that I have a hard time understanding, or maybe that I can’t understand, the love of my heavenly Father.

I grew up from the age of eight essentially without my father in my life. He could have easily been a part of my life, but for whatever reason, he chose not to be. Because of this, I think that the whole idea of a Father’s love can be hard for me to grasp. I haven’t experienced that here on earth, and that makes it hard to relate to, and at times I find myself intellectualizing God’s love for me and not really feeling it, and not really being open to feeling it.

That’s not to say that I’ve never felt God’s love—I have—it’s just been a while. And perhaps that is of my own doing.

Sometimes I have to sit down and be brutally honest with myself, and the brutal honest truth is that I suck at being a Christian. I consistently act selfish and prideful and greedy, and I fail miserably at being the perfectly good Christian woman that somehow some people seem to think I am. I am a complete and utter failure at this whole thing of “acting the part” of being a Jesus Freak. And it is completely my fault, because I get prideful and think I know what’s up, and forget that I’m not supposed to be in control.

It’s time to stop, reflect, study, pray, and let God make his amendments in my life. Instead of feeling guilt and shame for not living up to supposed expectations, and trying to control my behavior and my life to fit a mold, I need to let God be in control.

Yet that is so very hard to do.

Last week was VBS, and I was the director.

Did I see God last week? You betcha. I saw Him in the faces of those kids as they sang songs. I saw Him in the actions of those who helped with the various activities. I saw Him in the faces of the two little girls who got baptized this morning. He was very much present in every part of it.

To be totally honest, for the last several months, I’ve felt like my head hasn’t been screwed on right. Not only because I have had a lot to do, but because I’ve maybe been over-thinking my life’s direction a bit. I’ve been feeling really inadequate and mediocre.

Sometimes I have feelings about things, and I can’t explain why they are there, or why I feel them. Lately, as in the past few months, I’ve just had this extreme feeling of frustration with myself. I’ve had no drive. I’ve been questioning myself on all fronts. My priorities, my attitude, and my dedication have all been put under the microscope in my own mind. And it seems like all I’m left with is the why, how, what, when and where, and unseen answers that I know exist somewhere, but I can’t seem to find.

So what did I learn this week at VBS, aside from the fact that I can fit 30 large pizzas in the back seat of my Volkswagen Beetle?

I learned that I need to learn to lean on the people around me, and that I can’t do everything on my own. I learned that if I give up control to God, and not worry about certain things, that He’ll make magnificent creations from broken pieces. I’ve learned that things I thought I’d taken care of and dealt with, are still there, being used to make me stumble, and that I’m going to have to fight hard to keep from being defeated by them. I’ve learned there is a good kind of tired. I’ve learned that I’m weaker, yet stronger, than I thought I was. God taught me this week that He will make a way. When volunteers are scarce, He’ll multiply their effectiveness, like He did on a hill one day, multiplying the bread and fishes to feed a multitude.

Now, I feel like I’m getting somewhere. And I’m more confident than I have been in a long while about the awesomeness of the place I’m going.