“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43a-44
I’ll just call it an “Insta-conundrum.” Yesterday, Katie and I were walking into a store with both an inner and outer set of doors. Approaching the entry, Katie paused to allow me time to get there and open the door for her. She entered, while at the same time, a lady was exiting toward us, from the inner set of doors. Instantly I was faced with a conundrum as I thought, “what do I do now”?
Katie was set to go into door #2 while I was still holding door #1, with a lady approaching. Without time to really think, I continued to hold the door open until the lady exited, then walked inside to door #2, which had closed. Opening door # 2 for Katie, I realized SHE had had an “Insta-conundrum” of her own. Because she was simply standing there waiting for me to arrive to open the door for her.
From the time I was a little boy my father taught me to honor women. Opening doors and pulling out chairs for ladies was first mandatory, then became automatic, a sign of respect for women. For quite some time, there has been push back from some saying “opening doors for women belittles them by implying that they are weaker, helpless, or unable to open doors for themselves.” I say, “Nonsense!”
I don’t just hold doors for women! As a habit, if there is someone within the vicinity, I ‘get the door’ and invite men and children to go in first too. It is a sign of courtesy and service to others… the kind of generosity that Jesus implied in today’s Bible verse. The idea that giving honor ‘belittles’ another person is actually a selfish idea, since generosity doesn’t HAVE to be rooted in need.
My wife is tough, and she has the ability to ‘get the door’ herself. In fact, she does it all the time when I’m not with her. But when we are together, I’m ‘The Door Guy!’ For her to pause and wait for me to catch up to ‘get the door’ was equally a sign of courtesy and honor. To do otherwise would be like saying “that door rule is so dumb, I’m just going to do it myself,” removing honor and service from our union.
Serving others is a sign that I’m OK. Since I have Jesus Christ in my life, I am full. Being full, I have the privilege and honor of being generous with that honor. Honoring and serving others doesn’t HAVE to be rooted in another’s need. Just being there, showing up, reaching out, going second, praying for and even saving the last bite for another, proves there’s been a ‘touch of the Master’s hand!’ How do YOU serve the Master?
