Trying to interject yourself into a community where white people are seldom seen and less often wanted can be tough. Our first task in the Bagot community was to pick up trash. The idea was that we would show our concern for the people and their community by picking up the trash that litters the streets. It also gave us an excuse to wander the neighborhood and strike up conversations with the people we ran into. It is a bit trying to serve in a neighborhood where no one seems to care whether there is trash in the streets or not. Then one of our team members ran into a little girl who made a comment that made things a lot harder. They asked the little girl why the Aboriginal people throw trash in the streets and her response was “We throw it in the streets because we like to watch other people pick it up”. Can you feel the morale sinking? Suddenly people who were struggling with picking up other peoples’ trash were faced with picking it up knowing that the people who put it there got enjoyment out of watching others work to clean up their mess.
As I continued to pick up trash I asked God what I could learn from this situation. He told me that if I truly wanted to learn to serve others, this was the way to go about it. It is easy to paint a house for a nice old lady who thanks you and feeds you cookies when you are done. You might even have to take a look at your true motivation in painting the house in the first place (she might make REALLY good cookies). Serving those who take you for granted is a different story.
What better way to truly learn to be a servant than to serve those who don’t care, or worse yet who enjoy watching you sweat and get your hands dirty? Jesus served people who hated him, who spit on him, who beat him, and who ultimately killed him. He serves people who hate him today. He died for people who curse his name, who abuse his name, who misuse his name, who blame him for all of life’s woes. What a blessing it is to learn to serve those who marginalize my efforts and take my service for granted. I can think of no better environment to be in and I thank God daily for this opportunity he has given me. As a result of our efforts to pick up trash we have met some wonderful people and made some lasting relationships. It is such a joy to serve our Father.
