Jesus and Others and You: It’s all Wrong!

You probably sang the song back in the day, when you were a kid.  Then you sang the song as an adult, thinking about the words this time, in a different way than you did as a kid.

Jesus and Others and You
Written by B. Metzger, 1951

Jesus and others and you
What a wonderful way to spell joy
Jesus and others and you
in the life of each girl and each boy
"J" is for Jesus for He has first place,
"O" is for others you meet face to face,
"Y" is for you, in whatever you do,
Put your self third and spell JOY.

And maybe you were like me, struggling with feelings of guilt when you considered doing something for yourself.  The problem is that I, and maybe you, have adopted some theology from your hymnology, and really believed you had to stay in third place.  After all, if you did not take care of everyone else’s needs first, you were selfish, and a bad person.
Here’s the rub: even God took a Sabbath!  Furthermore, we see Christ getting away from the crowds to rest and pray.  Finally in Matthew 11:28-30, we find these words, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

When my children were very small, I established “Mom’s chair.”  At first, it was the one they could see from their bedroom at nap time.  As long as I was in that chair, they had to stay in their beds.  Thankfully, they usually fell asleep waiting for me to get up.  Then as they got older, especially in Africa, Mom’s chair was in the living room, and when I was in that chair, they had to keep their feet off the floor.  They could read or color or play with Lego, ON THEIR BEDS! 

While I sat in “Mom’s chair” with my cup of coffee, my Bible and notebook, I rested; God and I rested together.  I don’t even know if they remember this, but I wanted them to know that my time with God was important.  I have to admit that it took a while for me to come up with this, especially since number two and three were only 15 months apart, and this was back in the cloth diaper era.  I could fold a lot of diapers or mop the floor or browse through a Family Circle magazine or even lose myself in a book while they napped, but I could not read my Bible and journal while they were awake…so this plan worked for me.

I just wanted to encourage you today, that if you are ever going to have the wherewithal to minister to others, you cannot put everyone else’s needs before your own.  Sometimes you just gotta have a “Mom’s” chair.

image borrowed from http://mzungofire.blogspot.com/2011/06/ryan-hall-attacks-morning.html