(After a coworker told me that my way of thinking was strange, I began to realize that I needed to learn how to "wash other people's feet.")
Before Jesus was crucified, He washed Peter’s feet and said:
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14 (NIV))
What Jesus consistently taught, I believe, was love and humility. When I first learned that Jesus had washed His disciples’ feet, I was honestly shocked. Perhaps it was because I myself had been rather arrogant.
This happened when my company was holding a party to celebrate a major anniversary. It became quite late, and I happened to be going home on the same train line as one of my coworkers, so we rode together. His station was much earlier than mine, but when we arrived there, he simply said, “Well, good night,” and got off the train.
Looking back now, of course, he wasn’t my boyfriend, so that was perfectly normal. But at the time, I believed that a man should escort a woman all the way home. Until then, my boyfriends and even male friends had always walked me home or at least to the nearest station. I thought that was just the way things were.
Feeling indignant, I complained the next day to a close male friend at work, Mr. T. I said quite casually, “Honestly, that man is so rude. He didn’t even walk me home. No wonder he doesn’t have a girlfriend.” Mr. T replied, “No, you’re the strange one. Normally, men don’t do that.”
As we continued talking, I began to realize that I had been treated in a very special way for a long time. I wasn’t acting like a queen, but it’s true that I had been pampered. I didn’t have to do much myself—people around me took care of things for me. Whenever I was sad or in trouble, there was always someone nearby to comfort me or help me.
Because Mr. T told me frankly that I was “strange,” I was forced to think seriously about myself. I also talked with other “ordinary women,” but I didn’t meet a single person like me. I was truly embarrassed. This is not an excuse, but quite simply, I didn’t know.
Eventually, younger women began joining the company, and the attention of the men who had once pampered me shifted all at once to them. I think many women around the age of thirty have had similar experiences, but at that time, I felt that men were incredibly cruel.
Perhaps because of that reaction, compliments such as “You’re like a doll” or “You’re cute” began to sound unpleasant to me. I think it was because I strongly wanted to be seen for who I was inside, not just for my appearance. I decided, around the age of twenty-seven, “Youth and beauty are fleeting. From now on, I need to polish what’s inside.”
That was when I began to wonder how I could learn to wash other people’s feet, just as Jesus did. I am not very skillful, and I didn’t know how to do that in practical terms. So I decided that, just as others had once rushed to help me, I would rush to help others whenever they were in trouble.
From then on, I slowly began to learn what it means to be humble.
Having such a great Leader—the Lord—is something for which I am truly grateful.
にほんブログ村
にほんブログ村
多言語学習ランキング
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