Spoon in my pocket

This is my SOAP devotional from March 2nd

S - Matthew 20:20-28
20Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21"What is it you want?" he asked.
She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."

22"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"
"We can," they answered.

23Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."

24When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.

25Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."


O - Jesus I think just smiles at his disciples sometimes when he sees their desire for greatness. He KNOWS they can't truly sacrifice the way He does and yet He does not condemn them. He reminds them that He is not like kings that boss their subjects around and tell everyone how important they are. He is not like Jack Nicholson who takes power into his own hands manipulating the law to meet what he sees as right and then tells them "You can't handle the truth!" when they question it. No, quite the opposite, Jesus reminds us that we are here to serve, and he models that with his own actions.


A - This passage always reminds me of one of the greatest leaders I've ever known personally, Dr. Gordon Anderson, former superintendent of Spring ISD. He truly lived this out as a great leader. I don't have first hand knowledge of how he lived his personal life, and I'm sure he wasn't perfect, but I have a feeling he was who he really was at work. He carried a spoon in his pocket and was in the schools EVERY day. He didn't just TELL people they were there to serve, he showed it by example. He knew my name, and I was just one employee among 100s if not 1000s, plus I knew many that said the same thing about him. He cared for people and was concerned that you had the support you needed to do your best job. He inspired me to BE my best, simply with his regular presence. There really hasn't been many leaders in my life that have inspired me as he did. To me this is how it is as a Christian with Jesus in my life every day, except it's not just a spoon in my pocket but His Spirit living IN me, in my heart and mind. His regular presence inspires me to serve and to WANT to do my best job in this world. Jesus didn't just come to earth, God in flesh, and tell us how to live, He lived it. He physically came down off His throne to serve us. How there are still people in this world that cannot see that and be humbled is beyond my comprehension.

P - You God are the creator, the sustainer, the all-powerful, mighty King of all Kings, and yet you are also the cripple, the lonely and the broken hearted because you are willing to put yourself in their place. How anyone could deny you is beyond me and yet we are ALL guilty of putting ourselves first, forgetting our place and denying your power. Oh that I would be humble enough to have compassion and truly serve those that need to be served. I WANT to give YOU my BEST!! Amen.