The Work of Holy Week: Holy Thursday

Part IV in a 5-part series connecting daily work with spirituality

Thursday: "The Servant in All of Us"

John C. Maxwell once said, "The first step to leadership is servanthood."  This simple admonition is often drowned out by many lower-level ambitions because very few of us aspire to be great servants.  We aim for the cash, the corner office, the more prestigious assignment and the chance to make a name for ourselves.  But servanthood, that's another matter.

I had the opportunity to volunteer for a year after my undergrad years and it taught me many things.  I was hardly a model servant but I had the chance to watch a true missionary, Keith Pohlmeier, as he led an after school program for Jersey City children.  Keith lived his service then and he lives it today with his beautiful family and in his work.  He surrenders his ego and puts his family first- a simple formula for service-filled success.

What Keith knew then, and what Christ still challenges us with today, is the concept of immersing ourselves in the needs of those around us.  It's easy to understand the Amazon jungle missionary who learns to love the villagers around him.  Not so easy to see our coworkers as our mission field but that's really where God wants us to invest our time.  Today is Thursday in Holy Week.