on August 15, 2013
The other day, I heard a story that taught me a lot about service.
A bunch of American missionaries went down to Nicaraugua to help poor people in a bombed out neighborhood. Their tour guide took them into the basement of a school where some kids were having class. There were stains on the walls and the paint was peeling. The missionaries were horrified. They raised thousands of dollars and organized hundreds of people to come paint the basement of that school. At the end they were very proud of a job well done.
But what did they really do to meet the needs of the people they were trying to help?
Not a damn thing.
The painting of the school basement was about #9,678 on the priority list of the people in that neighborhood. The missionaries never asked the people what they actually needed or wanted and spent a whole lot of effort accomplishing nothing.
Service is like that sometimes.
I am learning to stop and ask myself - Am I giving Master what he really needs, or am I just painting his basement?
Am I really doing his will or am I on autopilot? Am I doing this because it is important to me or important to him? Does he really care that the sink is spotless or should I spend my time figuring out how to fix the noisy dishwasher that is driving him crazy? Do I really need to finish this load of laundry right now or should I sit outside and watch him grill because I know he loves that and I can make myself sit through the anxiety of knowing there are socks to be folded and clothes to be hung and a floor to be swept. The service of just being present means more to him than giving him the perfect house. Because really, the perfect house and the spotless sink are my fantasy, not his. And inflicting my idea of perfect service on him is not my job. Surrender is. And that means getting out of my head and getting off autopilot and learning him better every single day.
Painting the basement is easy.
Recognizing when you are doing it is hard.
Living in service to Master's actual needs is like sucking cock. I don't have a cock (well except for the purple one in my drawer). So if you asked me the top 5 priorities of the day, cocksucking is not going to be on my radar if I am tuned-in only to myself instead of him. But if I am tuned into him, you bet your sweet ass that cocksucking is going to rank up there with say, air and water.
A good rule of thumb is : Suck more cock, paint less basements.
A bunch of American missionaries went down to Nicaraugua to help poor people in a bombed out neighborhood. Their tour guide took them into the basement of a school where some kids were having class. There were stains on the walls and the paint was peeling. The missionaries were horrified. They raised thousands of dollars and organized hundreds of people to come paint the basement of that school. At the end they were very proud of a job well done.
But what did they really do to meet the needs of the people they were trying to help?
Not a damn thing.
The painting of the school basement was about #9,678 on the priority list of the people in that neighborhood. The missionaries never asked the people what they actually needed or wanted and spent a whole lot of effort accomplishing nothing.
Service is like that sometimes.
I am learning to stop and ask myself - Am I giving Master what he really needs, or am I just painting his basement?
Am I really doing his will or am I on autopilot? Am I doing this because it is important to me or important to him? Does he really care that the sink is spotless or should I spend my time figuring out how to fix the noisy dishwasher that is driving him crazy? Do I really need to finish this load of laundry right now or should I sit outside and watch him grill because I know he loves that and I can make myself sit through the anxiety of knowing there are socks to be folded and clothes to be hung and a floor to be swept. The service of just being present means more to him than giving him the perfect house. Because really, the perfect house and the spotless sink are my fantasy, not his. And inflicting my idea of perfect service on him is not my job. Surrender is. And that means getting out of my head and getting off autopilot and learning him better every single day.
Painting the basement is easy.
Recognizing when you are doing it is hard.
Living in service to Master's actual needs is like sucking cock. I don't have a cock (well except for the purple one in my drawer). So if you asked me the top 5 priorities of the day, cocksucking is not going to be on my radar if I am tuned-in only to myself instead of him. But if I am tuned into him, you bet your sweet ass that cocksucking is going to rank up there with say, air and water.
A good rule of thumb is : Suck more cock, paint less basements.
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