DIRTY DISHES
September 15, 2020
Prayer: You have cleaned up so much “dirt” in my life, Lord. Please show me what dirty mess I can tackle for You.
Scripture: “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others… and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. Matt. 6:1, 4 NLT
You’ve seen the sign, “YOUR MOTHER DOESN”T WORK HERE!” It was there in the teachers’ lounge but, apparently, they didn’t read it. We had a very small sink for a much too large staff, and it was the temptation of some to leave their dirty dishes in the sink when they were in a hurry. And it got to be ridiculous. It was happening all too frequently. The custodian, who had cleaned up too many times for these selfish people, was complaining along with most of the rest of us.
Then one day I found myself in the lounge with no one else around. The smelly dishes were there and I had a few minutes to myself. What would Jesus do? You guessed it. I washed the dishes. No one knew except Jesus Himself.
My point is that there are often opportunities, small and large, for us to do good, to take responsibility for someone else’s failures, to make life easier for someone. Do we look the other way, complain with everyone else, or do we take the “towel” as Jesus did and accept the role of servant? See how many opportunities you are offered to serve Christ in secret!
Copyright Shirley Wilson. Email [email protected]
Thank you!
Thank you for the devotion this morning, as I do a lot of “dirty dishes” that reminded me that I only need God’s approval and not mans. Though it would be nice sometimes to hear thank you honey or thanks mom. I am glad that my Savior sees me blessing others and continues to bless me. Lord thank you, help me not to be selfish but selfless.
Thank you for this. This year feels like a bunch of people have left their dirty dishes piled up for others to deal with: quarantines, masks, closures, reopening our school with crazy (but necessary) new protocols, and now smoke so dangerous in my area that we had to close the school today until the smoke clears. So now, more than ever, each of us needs to look around for ways we can go the extra mile to make whatever improvements we can. For example, I offered to bring groceries or supplies to a few elderly friends who should not go outside right now. We do need to move beyond our selfish natures and journey toward the selfless nature of Jesus.