A Slice of Humble Pie

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essons in humility are not fun and they never come at a convenient time in life!  The instruments used to teach these little gems are varied.  In fact, anything and anyone can be used to bring you to your knees.  Who among us hasn’t had the unpleasant experience of apologizing to someone because we wronged them or because we used them as a sounding board to air our frustrations even though they did nothing to cause our anger? 

During one Christmas holiday vacation, however, my lesson in humility came at the hands of my family’s dishwasher.  Yes, you read that correctly, the dishwasher, and oh what a lesson I learned!  Now you may be wondering how on earth a dishwasher could teach a lesson in humility.  Well, I’ll let you in on my lesson, a lesson about serving with humility that as a Christian, I should have learned by now.

When I am home, I like to help out around the house.  I vacuum, clean the kitchen, wash an occasional load of laundry, and run errands.  The thing is, I sometimes forget that I am in North Carolina instead of in Texas and that I am staying in my parents’ home and not am not in Fort Worth. 

One evening after supper, I cleaned the kitchen.  The first order of business was to empty the dishwasher so I could place our dirty dishes inside to be cleaned.  I began the process of placing the clean dishes back into the cabinets and drawers. For the most part, I knew where everything went.  However, when I encountered a pot or a utensil about which I was a little unsure, I “guesstimated” its placement.  This means that I looked around for a place that looked good and put the item away.  In no time, I had cleaned the dishwasher, loaded it again, finished the kitchen and joined my parents in the den to watch television.

The next morning, however, it was time for my humility lesson.  Unknown to me, my mom had been in the kitchen looking for a few things I had put away.  She had some things sitting on the counter that I knew I had put away the evening before.  When I asked about them she said I had misplaced them and she had had a difficult time trying to find them.  She continued by suggesting that I ask her when I was uncertain about putting something away.

At first, I was just a little upset.  I mean, after all, I had cleaned the kitchen and I had put away the dishes.  I had helped her out and I had given her an opportunity to relax and to rest.  How dare her point out my mistakes!!  How about all the dishes I had put away correctly?  What about them? Didn’t she care? Wasn’t she thankful?

As you can see, my focus was not on my mom; it was on myself. I really didn’t seem to care that I had not helped her out as much as I thought.  What I had done was make her task more difficult because she had to go behind me, discover my hiding places, and set everything back the way it was supposed to be.  I should have done things the way she wanted them done instead of how I thought they should be done.  This was the humility lesson I learned.

We’ve all been here, haven’t we?  We want people to appreciate what we’ve done for them and we want them to approve our work no matter what!  However, this is not the mark of servanthood that Jesus commanded in John 13:15-17, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

The example Jesus is speaking of is the washing of the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper.  All twelve, including Judas Iscariot, were in that room when Jesus removed his outer garment, wrapped a towel around his waist, got on his hands and knees, and washed their dirty feet.  He washed each of the disciples’ feet but no one washed his!  When he finished, he told the disciples to follow his example.  He underscored the fact that no servant was greater than his master and if the master had washed feet, they should do the same in keeping with his example.  The result was blessings for them if they obeyed what Christ had commanded and if they did it in a manner consistent with his example.

This is the lesson of humility.  We are to do things in a manner that pleases God and God alone.  The one who is serving, the Christian, must do things according to the wishes of the one being served, God.  The servant cannot do things his way.  His will cannot enter into the process at all.  He is a servant, which means he follows and obeys the commands of the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Washing feet is not always fun but it is a good reminder that our will is not our own; we must seek to God’s will as we serve others.

This is the lesson Jesus expects us to learn and to follow.  It is a lesson we learn daily and sometimes on a moment-by-moment basis. True service for God means we do things the way He wants them done regardless of the circumstances, regardless of the person, and regardless of how we feel about the situation.  We don’t get it our way; we get it His way. Realizing this should drive us to our knees in humility before God’s throne.  Have you had a slice of humble pie today?