I took my headphone’s out for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past hour to pretend like I knew what he was yelling about.
It was the heat of the day on a Saturday afternoon and after moving bricks, hauling wood and digging up boulders for the past six days straight, I had little patience for the man scolding me in a language I clearly didn’t understand.
I paused to take a sip of water and took a moment to look around at my fellow workers.
After being at this for four hours already, we were still going surprisingly strong and I couldn’t help but take pride in the work we had accomplished during our first week here.
As I lifted the water bottle back up to my mouth, a young Russian girl timidly approached me and translated what she had been told into broken English, “He says don’t stand. You must work. Now.”
I didn’t have to look up to know the “who” she was referring was standing ten feet away scowling at me.
I forced a smile, put my gloves back on and headed back to the wood pile as told, but as I did so, the thoughts that ran through my head about this man were less than kind.
How dare he? I mean, seriously, who does he think he is – a drill sergeant? This is the first day he’s come here to work and yet decides that he’s going to take over and bark orders at me all day? Doesn’t he know that we’ve been at this all week? He should be thanking us for busting our butts for them. We’re volunteers – not slaves!
And the moment that last thought crossed my mind, I began hearing the voice of Truth giving it’s rebuttal.
Why is it that I’m happy to serve – to do absolutely anything that’s asked of me – until someone actually treats me like a servant? I’ll gladly take last place when I’m thanked in return; when there is recognition involved or when I can see the positive result of my sacrifice. But as soon as I’m treated like a servant .. whoa .. I’m not ok with that.
But, why not?
The easy answer is that it’s because it’s completely against our human nature to willingly serve those who disregard our effort as meaningless or insufficient. But I think the harder truth is that the root of it is more about heart posture. Do I only act like a servant or do I have the heart of one as well?
Ephesians 6:7 & 8 say, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.”
That day, this passage served as a hard reminder that regardless of how I’m treated, I am to serve for the Lord alone and not for the approval of men.
And that no matter the circumstance, whether slave or free, a humble and willing heart is what really counts in the end.
