Sticks and Stones
Today I was called a hypocrite, and accused of treating people as though they were inferior. Those are the kind of words that can sting, even when you're pretty sure they're baseless. I tried to respectfully explain why the situation had developed, but my accuser was not really interested in what I had to say, and was perfectly content to continue with his ad hominem.
"Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 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 20:25-28
It can be easy to serve people who are nice to us and grateful for what we do. It gives that warm fuzzy feeling and makes us think we're good people. But I think in those cases Christ would tell us that we've pretty much already received our reward in full. Too often when those we serve complain or are difficult we become indignant and miss the simple reality that these are the opportunities for true service.
I know it may be fruitless, but I'd like to talk with that man again, to let him know I don't have all the answers. And if he's got a solution we haven't thought of, we'd love to listen.
posted by jdjones @ 7:44 PM
8 Comments:
When I was 19 going to college. I took a job in my Corp's (church) Homeless shelter. i as counselor usually working the over night.
most people who showed up during my shift had missed their curfew and as a result lost their bed. It was my job to tell them that they were no longer welcome.
That usually came with all of the names and comments you heard. At first i was a real Jerk!!! I was young and a bit intimidated by lard homeless men often threatening to kill me for taking their bed away. so i put on a tough act.
after a bout six months a homeless man was found dead in our city he had froze to death and i knew him. I had not taken his bad away the night before but i had taken someone elses.
I just realized that the same fear that caused me to put on a tough guy act was behind many of the harsh words I recieved.
I still had a job to do and the rules were still the rules but now i was able to do it with compassion. I continued at that Job for all "5" years of college, and i dealt with some pretty scarry situations but when i moved on i missed it for a long time.
Sorry this doesn't have to do with the post...though I will say that you are more or less correct in your analysis.
"My laughter is legendary" -- a veiled reference to a TV show? Anyway, you are correct. I recall that laugh with a chuckle myself.
My laughter was described this way recently in Steve Maxon's livejournal, and I liked it so I basically stole it. The fact remains that I have had more comments on my laughter than I can count.
Okay, I give up. What TV show?
How I Met Your Mother. The character Barney commonly refers to things as "legendary". Really, we he does this, he is much like me in my use of the term "greatest".
And I like it too. It's both accurate, alliterate and poetical. Congratulations to have a laugh like that.
Although the story of How I Met Josh's Mother is arguably more legendary than even his laughter, I was not inspired by the show of the same name in my choice of adjective.
Still...if you've seen the show, you can't say that, but if you haven't, kudos on being clever. How's that working out for you? being clever and all? (veiled movie reference)
Also, I miss Josh's Mom.
Never seen the show. Apparently it airs opposite 'Prison Break,' which means that it might as well not even exist.
Oh, and I didn't like Fight Club enough to return your reference, but it was understood and appreciated nonetheless.
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