Go Serve

Introduction

Good evening. How’s everybody? Individually, please. No? I don’t have time for that. As most of you, some of you may know, as a part of what we do with our kids, well, one of them now because the other one’s a college man, is uh and Jacob’s looking like what? What do we do with our kids? It’s not about you personally, so it’s okay. Um instead of participating in band or uh music, which is band, sports, things like that. We participate in speech and debate. And basically uh speech and debate is uh 150 plus kids that gather for these tournaments uh four to six times throughout this qualifying year. Uh these 150 kids not only come with themselves, but sometimes one or both parents. And as you know, we homeschool, so these homeschool kids have a lot of siblings.

It’s not one or two, it’s eight or nine sometimes. They all show up at this tournament. And when these kids aren’t competing, they collect in what’s generally referred to as a student center, some type of place to collect the kids to store them so they’re not running around free. Well, in these tournaments there, which are all volunteer run, there are various staff level positions that make sure things get done. At a recent tournament, my lovely wife was the director of the tournament, and part of the responsibility of the director of the tournament is to staff your team throughout. And there are people that tabulate the results, and there are people that hand out ballots and people that collect ballots and people that do hospitality, and then there are people that do what’s called facilities.

And the explanation to me were of facilities is you go into someone else’s facility and you have to prepare the rooms for competition. So you have to rearrange the furniture, take pictures of how everything was arranged, rearrange the furniture, and then when the tournament is completed, make sure all that furniture gets reset in the proper place. Somebody explained that to you, you’d probably say, Oh, sure, I can do that. It’s moving a few chairs and a few tables. So I said, sure, I can do that. Well, when you think broader about the term facility, it means caring for the facility. The things that are included in the facility, and one of the things that’s included in the facility is the garbage.

And I don’t know how many kids you’ve been around in your life, but 150 plus kids can generate a tremendous amount of you wouldn’t believe the amount of trash these kids can generate. It’s like it’s populating. It’s like they’re, it’s like rabbits, not trash. Just it appears out of nowhere.

Okay, take out the trash. That’s not that big of a deal. But it begins to collect. And these aren’t, you know, like kitchen, kitchen trash cans. These are 50 gallon, the massive trash cans.

And through day one, you know, it was kind of okay. The dumpster was a walk away, and I had to take the trash over to the dumpster and dump it and come back. And I thought day one that there was a lot of trash, but on day two there was more trash, and on day three there was even more trash. But I was taking the trash out. It wasn’t like I was leaving it. It just continued to collect. And I was trying really hard to have a good attitude. But by day three, I kind of had my feel of garbage. This isn’t what I signed up for. These kids are pigs. And I’m sick of it. And as I’m thinking this, I part of what the kids get when they can prepay for lunches and they get lunches and they get their whatever it is and their side and they get a bottle of water.

And I don’t know, again, if you spent much time around kids, but when kids get handed a bottle of water, you know what they do with it? They don’t drink it. So when they are doing as told and collecting their trash and throwing it away, and 150 kids throw a full water bottle in a trash can. Do you know what that does to a paper thin trash bag? It makes it rip because there’s now 70 or 80 pounds in that trash can. So I went to take one of these trash bags out of the trash can and I pull on it, and I can’t get it out. It won’t move. So I figure I’ll get it over to the dumpster and work its way out. And I’m wheeling it across this bumpy asphalt road, brigity boogity, you know.

And this verse comes to mind in hindsight. Pride goes before destruction in a haughty spirit before a fall. And that comes to mind because I hit a hole and this open trash bag filled with uneaten beans and rice and mashed potatoes and chicken bones and coffee cups half drunk and boom. It falls over. And if you know anything about gravity and Newton and all of that, when things move, they have to go somewhere. And so all of that trash went on to the ground. And I didn’t have gloves. But it wasn’t my place. And the trash had to be picked up. So with my hands, I’m picking this stuff up and putting it back in the bag. And I’m feeling kind of angry at this point.

This isn’t my job. I’m not a trash man. When I’m at work, I’m the one telling people what to do. And these people at this tournament, who frankly don’t really know what they’re doing, are telling me what to do, and I’m having to take out these kids’ trash.

1. Service Is Humility

I was asked to serve at this event.

And I wasn’t serving. I had a really bad attitude. And I think about Ken’s great lesson about service is sacrifice. And to me, as an extension to that, service is humility. Those things that we say, oh, I don’t do that. I don’t change diapers. That’s that’s the wife’s thing. I don’t do dishes. I don’t, I don’t, whatever you don’t do, is probably what you should be doing for somebody else. Unless you’re a trash man or a four-year-old. Trash probably isn’t your thing. I’m kind of grossed out by trash. That’s the other thing. My wife knows I won’t even trust touch the trash can at home. And I’m touching somebody else’s trash can. But maybe she thought that’s what I needed. And you know what it is.

2. Become As Little Children

I don’t, I don’t know that I ever really thought of myself as a prideful person, but on that in hindsight, yeah, I kind of am. And it’s kind of a shame. I was asked to do something, I said I’d do it, and I ended up kind of resenting it because I felt I’m above what somebody else. Should be taking out the trash. I’m much more qualified to do other things. Well, I was right where I was supposed to be. I needed to be the trash man. I needed to learn. Reminded me again in Matthew 18. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Then Jesus caught a little child to him, set him in the midst of them, and said, Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. What are children eager to do? Please. When they’re really young, you can’t get them away from the garbage. You can’t get them away from the dishes. You can’t, they just want to do whatever mom or dad’s doing. They want to help. They want to be involved. They don’t understand that that’s beneath them. They haven’t grown to the place we have where we recognize that we have status in this world, and those kinds of things are not for me. Those kinds of things that are not for you are just what you need. Trust me. I learned it. And there are people in this congregation, there are people that you meet every day that need the I don’t do that from you.

3. Jesus Washed Dirty Feet

That need the I don’t do that’s from me. And what I want to encourage you tonight to do is learn from my bad attitude and maybe not have that. Because I’m kind of embarrassed when I look back on it. Now, fortunately, I hope, I think, most of that was kind of kept self-contained. This was a learning lesson. I didn’t lash out at anyone. I didn’t throw trash at these kids and say, pick up your own trash. But I was, I’m embarrassed at my attitude. I’m embarrassed at how elevated I thought of myself. John 13 teaches us after that he poured water in a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. Jesus washed dirty feet, and I’m above taking out the garbage.

4. Humble Yourselves in the Sight of the Lord

I’m better than Jesus. When we elevate ourselves, when we put the I don’t do that in our heart, we’re elevating ourselves above Jesus. The ultimate service, the ultimate servant, the ultimate sacrifice. James 4 tells us, therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and warn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up. Who is in a position to elevate us? Us or God? It’s not my place to elevate me. If I somehow get to a point in God’s eyes that he thinks he will elevate me in his eyes, so be it.

But it’s not my place. Christian, Christ like, what better example is there than Christ to follow and his humility and his humble sacrifice. As we’re thinking about service in our family here, as we’re thinking about sacrifice. Remember, those things that you don’t want to do that make us the most uncomfortable are probably the things that we need to be doing. Because it was a good reset for me. It was a good refocus for me.

Conclusion

You just get off your high horse and go serve. That’s what you need to do. And the people that need help will get it. Because that’s what matters. The people that need to be served will serve. If we take the I don’t do that out of our heart and put the I wills there instead. Proverbs 11 tells us when pride comes, then comes shame. Boy, I can tell you that. But with the humble is wisdom. Be wise, be humble, and serve. If there’s anything we can do for you tonight, any way we can serve you, any way we can help you in your walk with God, please let us know as we stand in presence.