A Glamorous Word

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.  If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. John 13:12-17

Authority is such a glamorous word, right? The boss, in charge, and head honcho. When I was a kid, I used to think of all the good things I believed came with authority. For example, If I was mad at my parents for disciplining me, I’d be like, I can’t wait until I’m the parent and no one can tell me what to do.  I mean, wouldn’t it great to boss others around and not have to be told what to do? 😊 Isn’t it great to have no accountability to anyone? Afterall you’re the person in charge.  Just imagine the power that comes with authority. Everyone must answer to you. You get to make all the decisions, and everything gets to be your way. I’m laughing as I write this. Understand, I really don’t believe this.

Another word that comes to mind when thinking of authority is prestige. Prestige- respect and admiration given to someone or something, usually because of a reputation for high quality, success, or social influence; reputation or influence arising from success, achievement, rank, or other favorable attributes

I know I gave a 5-year-old view of what authority might look like, but even as adults, I often think the world views authority or position as glamorous.  Many people go after the 3 “Ps” –

Position-Power-Prestige

If you look at the life of Jesus, you soon find out having position, power, and prestige isn’t very glamorous. He’s not living in mansions or wearing fancy clothes. In fact. He’s looking down the barrel of gun. We find in John 13, Jesus (Teacher, Master, Lord) is realizing His earthly ministry is winding down and He faces the cross ahead. The heaviness He must have felt may have been overwhelming. What does He decide to do? He starts washing His disciples’ feet. All the authority He’s been given on heaven and earth and He’s taken His garments and proceeds to wash feet.

From the outside- power, position and prestige- look very glamorous. However, the higher the position, the more weight, stress, and hardships one carries. Being a leader causes weight gain- because burdens are heavy. I think the more one has, the more the temptation and fear of losing it. The more one has, the more time they devote to preserving it. We can have such a tight grip on our authority and everything that comes with it, that our knuckles turn white.

Jesus exercised His own authority given to Him from His father by washing feet. He instructed His disciples to do the same. It seems so simple. Feeling weighted down? Wash feet. Feeling concern for the future? Wash feet. Feeling grieved in your spirit? Wash feet. Going through a loss or financial hardship? Wash feet.

Does someone seem like a burden to you? Wash their feet. Maybe a little foot-washing could turn them in to your biggest blessing.

Is your grip too tight? You have to put down whatever it is you’re carrying in order to wash feet. Maybe the answer was in front of us all along. Whatever the situation or the burden we carry, maybe the heaviness could be alleviated simply by doing exactly what Jesus did… wash feet.

How will you devote2day?