To serve or be served?

Have you ever walked into a large department store and asked for help only to be told to go online and take care of the matter yourself? This happened to me the other day. My reaction was if I could handle my needs as a customer by going online, why not just shop online in the first place? Yes, I am thankful for the convenience of modern technology, but I wonder if it comes at a price. Have people forgotten how to serve others?

To be fair, there are many wonderful people in our town who go out of their way to take care of customers. My point is that we are evolving into a society where many would rather text than talk to another human face to face. We are so technologically connected that we have become socially distant. No one pumps your gas; you bag your own groceries -- after you check yourself out. Now it is commonplace to take your own order at fast food restaurants.

I shared my experience with a few friends and there was a consensus that customer service is becoming extinct. For example, my 81-year-old mother called to order internet for her home the other day. She received a box of stuff for her to self-install. Really? Who on earth took that order? Fortunately, after I called the company, they were more than willing to send a service technician to her home to help her set everything up. I guess you can get customer service if you ask for it, but you must ask for it when it was once part of doing business.

I am reminded of a story in the Bible. The disciples were tired from their travels. They were expecting to have a servant wash their dirty sandaled feet. No one was willing to serve the other, so as they waited to be served, Jesus took a basin and a towel and began washing their feet. The disciples became convicted -- they were students of the Messiah, and he was serving them. Although students would serve a rabbi by performing menial tasks, washing feet was beneath them -- something a slave would do. Jesus flipped the pyramid upside down modeling servant-leadership. He told them that to be great, one should be willing to serve. The Lord told them that he didn't come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

If you are a follower of Jesus, have you considered how he might want you to view your job? Have you considered that you can glorify God while running a cash register or performing open heart surgery? We need to thank God for whatever job we have. Remember, they are not paying you just to be there, they are paying you to work. The time goes faster, and you gain personal satisfaction when you help others. You can find joy in your job when you focus on working for The Lord instead of working for "the man," or a paycheck.

Our character and success do not magically appear the day we are given the job we think we deserve or the level of pay we require. We are building these qualities during the mundane times in life. I have had jobs where I swept floors, cleaned toilets, calmed frustrated customers, etc. I can look back and see how these insignificant part-time jobs helped to shape me into the person I am today.

Think about how important people skills are in most professions. Many people are in high-level positions today because they proved themselves in entry level jobs. Not everyone is going to invent a social media app that makes millions of dollars. But everyone can learn to be less self-centered and more willing to help other people. The biblical principle is that if you want to be great, take up a towel and start serving.