Feeling inconvenienced? Get over it!
Have you ever felt inconvenienced by the smallest of things? I am embarrassed to admit it, but that is how I recently felt at work. I was feeling aggravated that someone requested something of me that I considered a hassle. Wow, who on earth did I think I was? I certainly wasn't following my mantra of "Do everything with a happy heart" and "Buck up, little soldier" that my kids heard so often during their childhood. More importantly, my selfishness would affect our friends in Honduras, one of the ministries operating under the umbrella of m25 International Community Development, and created based on Matthew 25. Let's just say my heart wasn't in it.
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me," Matthew 25:40
I am embarrassed by my reaction to such a minor inconvenience, but here's the backstory: A few years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Honduras on an administrative trip to learn about our partner organization's accounting system. Mario is the accountant who walked me through their process. He is a very knowledgeable and humble man, and I enjoyed my time with him very much. Over the years, we had developed an excellent method for transferring funds between the Hillspring account to the Honduras account. Fast forward to the pandemic and devastation to Honduras due to flooding. It was inevitable those events would disrupt our process. Mario, my sweet friend, requested a minor change regarding transferring funds, and ashamedly, I was a little put-out. I didn't want Mario to sense my pettiness, so as far as he was concerned, I was happy to make the change, but I knew, and God knew about my bad attitude. Shame on me!!!
Jesus loved even when inconvenienced because he was filled with the love of God. He was repeatedly interrupted with requests by people he didn't know but stopped to help them even at the most inconvenient time. He taught us that serving the Lord is not a "by appointment only" scenario.
As followers of Christ, we will and should be inconvenienced and challenged. I love this quote,
"Jesus went through a lot of trouble just to get our attention." Nothing can compare with the trouble He went through for us, so why do we balk at the slightest bumps in the road? It shouldn't be an excuse, but we are still human, and we will be selfish and inconsiderate. Humans are a conglomerate of many different characteristics, qualities, and quirks. Some are negative, and thankfully many are positive ones. As we grow in our faith, the positive qualities should overtake the negative ones. We should resemble Christ more and more, which means loving one another should definitely be a priority.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 13:34-35
Jesus knew his disciples would abandon him, but he still called them friends. He told them of his love, that they should love one another the same way, and then announced that one of them would betray him. Of course, the comment was meant for Judas, but each disciple knew it could be them. Each one of his so-called friends would betray him. His closest friends essentially dumped him, but he did not wash his hands of them. Instead, he repeatedly came back to them.
Even while dying on a cross, Jesus showed us how to love. He forgave those who put him there. He was concerned about his mother's needs above his own and assured a thief that he would be in paradise. At a minimum, as Christians, we are commanded to love one another and care for each other's needs. It means welcoming people wherever they are on the journey and loving them no matter what, even if we feel inconvenienced.
Sadly, as we all know, it is easy to lose sight of the reality of Jesus' love and sacrifice he made for all of us, but during this Lenten season, please use these forty days and beyond to draw closer to Him.
Blessings,
Peggy Zumhofe
Executive Pastor
