I was listening the other day to a re-broadcast of Fresh Air on NPR. The host was interviewing the great British actress Helen Mirren and they were discussing Mirren’s role of Mrs. Wilson, the head housekeeper in Gosford Park, the 2001 Robert Altman film.
They played a short clip from the film where Mirren’s character, a very prim and humorless woman, said something that really struck a chord in me.
What gift do you think a good servant has that separates them from the others? It’s the gift of anticipation. And I’m a good servant. I’m better than good. I’m the best. I’m the perfect servant. I know when they’ll be hungry and the food is ready. I know when they’ll be tired and the bed is turned down. I know it before they know it themselves.
The truth of that statement really settled in on me. I have known for so much of my life that as Christians we are called to be servants. Further, I had assumed that the most valuable character quality of a servant was willingness or availability. My assumption was that the excellent servant would willingly stand-by, at his master’s beck and call, always available, ready for further instructions.
But I can now see the truth…that’s too passive. A servant who has to be told to do everything would be viewed as dull or stupid. A servant who waits to be told what to do before acting would be considered lazy or insecure. No, the truth of Mrs. Wilson’s words ring true…the difference between a great servant and a average one is the gift of anticipation.
When God calls us to be servants in His kingdom, He is calling us to know one another so well and love one another so completely that we know what the other wants and needs. We can anticipate needs much in the way that Mrs. Wilson does as head housekeeper, I know when they’ll be hungry and the food is ready. I know when they’ll be tired and the bed is turned down. I know it before they know it themselves.
When we allow ourselves to become passive in our servanthood, we place all the responsibility on the other. It’s easy to say, “I didn’t know.” But as an excellent servant, it’s our job to know.
Today you are surrounded by people. People who love you and need you…people God has called you to serve. But what kind of servant are you? Do you sit back and wait to be told what to do or are you always thinking about what they are going to need next and rushing to be there with what they need? What do you need to do to be an excellent servant today?
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