We
live in a culture and society where instant gratification is the code of
conduct. Our attention span is getting shorter. We don’t like to wait for
anything and certainly if we do an act of service, we want the spotlight.
This
is very contradictory to the teachings of Jesus. His life was filled with
miracles yet He told people He touched “Don’t
tell anybody.” How different it is from the mindset of today. You hardly
can do anything without getting acknowledged for it. Not that it is wrong to be
recognized and thanked for what we do but when we seek the glory for what we
do, we’ve missed the heart of it.
Couple
of weeks ago, I was traveling in Oklahoma. We stopped for lunch at a local
restaurant because I really wanted to try some country food. While we waited
for our order I spotted three young soldiers in their uniform eating and having
a good time. The sacrifice of the servicemen always touches my heart. I called
the waitress to the side and asked her to put their tab under my name and not
to tell them anything. When they came to pay their bill I was sitting right
next to the counter. Trying to be anonymous I kept talking to my kids. I
thought they’d just leave but the waitress had told them. They came by our
table to thank me for buying them lunch. I didn’t want to be recognized but it
just played out that way. No harm was done that day although I’d have preferred
to have been anonymous.
One of the great lessons I learned early in
life is to help others without seeking glory for it. There’s nothing wrong when people
acknowledge our goodness but when we’re doing something to impress people rather
than God then we’re doing it for the wrong motive. A far greater attitude is to
help people because it is the right thing to do. What we do for others in secret will be rewarded by God openly.
In
December 1938, a 29-year-old London stockbroker by the name of Nicholas Winton
was about leave for a Skiing holiday in Switzerland. Just as he was about to
leave he got a call from a friend in Prague, Czechoslovakia asking him to come
and help him with the most interesting assignment. When Winton got there he
found thousands of Jewish refugees living in camps under appalling conditions.
Immediately
Winton began a rescue operation for the children. After he returned to England,
Winton worked as a stockbroker by the day and labored late into the night to
bring Jewish children out of the danger zone. After the war Winton didn’t tell
anyone, not even his wife Grete about his wartime heroic effort. Half a century
later Grete discovered a scrapbook in their attic with all the children’s
photos, a complete list of names, letters from the parents to Winton and other
documents. Winton had rescued 669
children from the sure death of the Nazi regime. Half a century later Winton
was recognized by various groups, and the nation of Israel. Today Sir Nicholas
Winton is 104 years old. He still wears the ring given to him by some of the
children he saved. On the ring is
inscribed: “Save one life, save the world.”
Friend,
very few of us can do great things but all of us can do a small thing in a
great way. You may not be able to save hundreds of lives like Sir Winton but can
you buy lunch for a serviceman? Jesus healed people without getting recognition
from the religious institution of His days. Can you reach out and touch a
broken heart? Modesty is a lost art today. But God never forgets anything we do
in His name. When we help others without seeking glory for it, God Himself will
pay us back.
Don’t
say to yourself I cannot do anything great. Don’t seek greatness; have a heart
to help. Don’t focus on what you cannot do. Do what you can. When we save one
life with the Gospel of Christ, we give them eternal passage. Save one life,
save the world!
His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a
few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master's happiness” (Matthew 25:21 NIV)!
No comments:
Post a Comment