A while back, a friend complained to me that she felt taken advantage of by her neighbor. The neighbor’s work prevented her from picking up her daughter from school a couple days a week. She asked my friend to help her. What began as a small favor to pick her daughter up turned out to be a regular chore.
I told my friend to put things in perspective: isn’t it better to be in a position to be able to help someone than to be the one who needs to ask others for help?
She thought that was good advice.
Now I need to apply that lesson to myself.
I felt very taken advantage of by a client. What was suppose to be an hour business appointment turned out to over 5 hours of running errands for her. At first, it was just taking her to the bank – it took two hours. Then a supposed “quick trip to the market for a few vegetables” turned out to be two hours of shopping with over 10 bags of groceries that I had to carry for her. She is elderly, cannot drive, barely able to walk with a walker, so I couldn’t say no.
But I was not happy.
Then I remembered what I said to my friend.
Isn’t it better to be young and healthy enough to be a helper to someone less fortunate than to be a “helpee” like that lady who can’t get around without the help of others?
If I only want to help under my terms – I want to know ahead of time, I want it to fit my schedule, I don’t want to help if the work requires hard work, I don’t want to take too much of my time, etc., etc., etc. – then that’s not servanthood. That’s not what Jesus would do.Even though the circumstances isn’t what I would want, I shouldn’t complain about being able to help.
Afterall, I too may be in her situation one day. Wouldn’t I want someone like me to be a helper?