True Service Comes With A Cost… Hello weekend readers. I just finished watching the funeral for President Jimmy Carter. I cried with the loss of this incredible man, and I cried with tearful joy for the legacy of compassion, faith, and putting all of that in action until he passed away at 100 years old. Some ‘dis’ him as a ‘no-good’ President, but when you see his life in full, I think Lincoln would have said, “I wish I had done that…along with many others.”
True service does come with a cost from the naysayers to the embodiment of squabbles in politics, the boardroom, the family and even in the church! It is the man or woman of faith that stays the steady course on God’s path, living the way God wants them to do and be.
I find myself musing on this man of faith, so I am sharing a story that Carter often used from the Oval Office to the classrooms—whether big or small and here in the USA or around the world. Again, he leaves another tidbit for us in how we should live our lives!
The boys of a junior high school were organizing a basketball team. All of them wanted to be the captain and the argument became heated. Only one boy, Robby, was willing to give up the title. So, while the other boys fought and argued, Robby took the ball to the gym and practiced shooting baskets.
After an hour, their coach appeared upon the scene and saw the situation. He said, “Well, we will settle it this way: Each of you will shoot ten free throws and whoever makes the most will be the captain.” To the coach’s surprise, they all agreed. And after the competition was over, Robby came out on top and was appointed captain. Again, the coach was surprised that no one got upset. In fact, the boys circled around him and a deep friendship had begun that lasted through their high-school years and beyond.
It’s easy to work when there’s something in it for you—like a title or status. As I watched this funeral, it was pretty easy to pluck out many who didn’t like Carter–those who are more apt for power and money rather than good government. They thought he wasn’t a good President until today they learned how much he truly did in his presidency and his whole life. Again, true service comes with a cost to the one who ministers. It’s being humble enough to put others first and work on doing your part for God’s glory and not your own.
The Apostle Paul gives us a great reminder about humility and how we should care for others: If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. –Philippians 2:1–4 [MSG]
In wrapping this up, I suspect some of you are wondering if Carter was in this basketball group–indeed he was!! Robby was not in his circle of friends until a coach stepped in and, as Carter would say, “the light went on in my heart and I knew right away this was God’s hand.” Pretty cool don’t you think? The question is, can we do likewise with our faith as President Carter did and many others? Like I often say, we have the choice—so choose well. AMEN.
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