What A Servant Looks Like

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.
Colossians 3:23

A few days ago I mentioned that the "best servant" award for our ABF's building of the Box Maze was awarded to Danny and David Durham. Just to back up that decision, let me tell you a little about Danny.

The Fall Festival was on Sunday night from 6:00 pm to about 9:00 pm. After the Sunday Morning service, I stayed at the church all day in order to prepare for the event. Danny and David stayed with me as well. They were with me all day. Those guys are amazing. As I said, the event was officially finished around 9:00, but we had to stay behind and work on cleaning up the mess, and stomp down all those boxes, and roll up extension cords, etc.

After a while of cleaning up, I took a look at the time. It was 10:15 pm. I had hung out with Danny and David before on a Sunday night or weeknight, and typically they need to be home by 10:00 so that they can get in bed early enough to get up bright and early for work. Obviously, when I realized that it was after 10:00, and we still had (at least) a 10 minute drive to get Danny home, I was worried.

I ran over to Danny and put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Danny, it's after 10:00, we really need to get you home." He looked up at me with those awesome eyes and paused for just a second. I fully expected him to reply: "So, So... we should get going so that I can get in bed." Perhaps that would have been the "wise" thing for him to say, or at least the "comfortable" thing for him to say. But instead, after his pause, Danny looked up at me and said, "So, So... So what else is Deonna doing that we need to help her with?"

That night I saw Danny unhesitatingly carry large boxes of electrical cords from one end of the church to the other, I saw him clean an entire Men's Restroom—including a clever stunt standing on the counter and thoroughly scrubbing all the mirrors, I saw him comb the entire parking lot looking for and picking up loose pieces of trash that blew away during the event... and the only thing he had to say while I was driving him home was, "that was good... I clean a lot of bathrooms at my work."

I worked there all day because my wife works at the Church, and I was supposed to be there getting everything ready and cleaned up. Danny had no reason to be there—except to reflect the gentle heart of Christ to those who had eyes to see. I selfishly thought I had a servant-heart; my mundane efforts to serve others are nothing but a foil contrasted against Danny and David's selfless hearts.

Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality
with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing,
taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Philippians 2:6–7

Whoever humbles himself like this little child
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:4