A Mop Bucket and a Math Degree

The following words hung in my closet all last year as a reminder of calling:

“Serve.

Cease selfishness in…
Phone calls
Time
Emails
Comfort
Conversation

Give your life away and in doing so, gain true life.
You once lived with the Homeless. Remember the mop and continue to seek service daily.”

The mop reference refers to some time I spent helping a coffeehouse ministry get started in Atlanta a few years back. I lived in a ministry house with some other volunteers. Our goal was to seek community and to help some homeless guys get back on their feet. I got a lifetime of great stories from those 14 months of life.

With the ministry, I had volunteered to do “whatever” for a year. And “whatever” is what I did. I remember one night after everyone had gone home. Tons of hurting teens who had every type of addiction had come to an open mic night where we sought to build relationships so that we could share the Gospel.

The floors were sticky and trash was everywhere. All had gone home and I was pushing the mop. I can remember thoughts running into my head like, “Where are the other leaders?” “Why am I alone?” The best one was “I have a degree in Mathematical Sciences and here I am mopping a floor.”

And that’s when it hit me. The example of our serving Savior. My disgruntled attitude turned into songs of praise and tears of joy.

Oh that God would capture our hearts so that we might see the gift of serving our brothers and sisters and serving a hurting world.

May God replace our disgruntled scowls with tears of joy as we mop up after those around us each day. This will truly be an enigma to a self-centered world as we love each other selflessly with the love Christ provides.

Tagged as: selfishness, selflessness, service