They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. Peter 2:23-24(MSG)

No One’s Punching Bag

Sometimes I go through my day feeling as if I am a punching bag for the bad moods of the people I encounter. I feel as if I am disrespected, victimized, put down, criticized, ignored, pushed away, unfairly blamed or accused, insulted, and in fact, my balloon is popped and I am flattened! I wish I could have before my eyes or echoing in my head, words of comfort or advice from the Bible for every situation I encounter and thus avoid my inevitable, negative response to these bad moods of other people. I wish I had a special room of comfort which followed me everywhere to which I could retreat and hide, or pop into for a moment to gather my thoughts and then have an appropriate, “Christian” response to offer. But instead I respond “from the hip”, with an angry rebuttal or equally loaded insult which, upon reflection, I regret. Words have power; words that wound do not heal as easily as a scratch or burn. As much as I have been injured, so too have I been guilty of injury.

God’s Servant Body

But this morning I read Chapter 2, verse 23-25 from the book of Peter and I was impressed by the powerful concept these verses outlined. I read this passage in several translations and was struck by the phrase in the Message, “He used his servant body”. Could I be God’s “servant body”, directed and controlled, protected and shielded by Him? Would this mean that everywhere I went I would not be alone, I would have God as my partner? I am sure this is already obvious to some people but for me, it was new. Somehow this morning I read this verse and suddenly I had a picture in my mind of me walking through my house and my day with a hulking big angel bodyguard walking beside me, deflecting slights and insults with his mighty wings! Whenever I encountered a grumpy person or an implied criticism I would look over at my companion and say “Wow, we were just insulted!”, and my protector would say, “Naw, we’re okay, we don’t take that stuff personally, don’t worry about it!” and then I would say, “What should we do about it?” and my buddy would reply, “He’s obviously sleep-deprived (or hungry, or his shoes hurt, or his stocks are down or a random comment just reminded him of something unresolved which is bothering him, it doesn’t really matter) so throw some love at him, be compassionate and understanding, smile and give him a hug!” and then I would! In the past, I would have reacted negatively, feeling hurt or offended and get angry or feel sad, and then react accordingly. I would have said, “Hey, I’m not your punching bag!” and turned away in a snit and stalked off! When we are alone and insulted or hurt or accosted, we feel threatened and react, but when we are with another person we can look at him or her and put the comment into perspective; we can get a second reading, a reality check, and not take the comment personally. If we can sidestep our human reaction, we can be more of the “servant body” God would like us to be.

                                                                           God will Set Things Right

We all know what the Bible wants of us, we all know how we are called upon to behave. We are told over and over how a good person should interact with others, but it is so hard to ingest this behaviour and sublimate it into a response! It is usually after our not so great reaction, that we take time to reconsider and repent, or we should anyway! We react from within our humanity, but this Bible verse from Peter and the following ones from Psalms, struck me as being the key to our behaviour. If I take along a consultant, a personal behavioural counsellor in the personhood of Christ, and take Him with me EVERYWHERE, then I can modify my behaviour. I can check in with my “buddy” as to a better response, which I probably know anyway, if I give my ego a rest! We are so easily offended in our humanity, but in our relationship with Christ, we know that God will work it all out for us in the end, he will “set things right”, and we can just relax and smile and be his “servant body”!

Living in the Moment

“Being in the moment” is a popular notion these days. We are told that there is no fear or regret or stress in the moment, given that we are not being chased by a black bear, of course. If we can enjoy each moment to its fullest, if our thoughts remain completely in the present we can find peace and contentment, and how much more true is this when we rely on our “hulking big angel bodyguard” to protect us! I like to think of my angel body guard putting out a steadying hand to stop me from stumbling, or with a gentle tug, (or perhaps a forceful shove when necessary), redirecting my steps in a better direction. This is fanciful thinking of course, but if we can hold to the realization that we are never alone, that we have an advocate in heaven, that we can relax and be a “servant body” because we are being shielded and protected, and we can “be in the moment”  because there is no need to be hypervigilant since someone is doing that for us, then how much more can we do God’s work and find joy and contentment as we do? We can drop all our “issues” and sensitivities, because it is not about us anyway, is it?

The Freedom of Servanthood

The Lord makes firm the steps

   of the one who delights in him;

though he may stumble, he will not fall,

   for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

The law of their God is in their hearts;  their feet do not slip.

Psalms 37:23-24, 31(NIV)

How do I engender this ideal in my life? I was reading in Psalms, and came across this verse about being supported by God in our lives. Unfortunately I did not enjoy the Message Translation which compares me to a dog chewing on a bone! Instead, I prefer the above translation from the New International Version. I think the key to our success lies within the words of Psalm 37, verse 23- 24, and verse 31: we cannot fail if we “delight in the Lord” and have the law of God in our hearts! We all find our own ways to delight in God, walks, friendship, prayer, singing, reading, there are as many ways as there are people. We keep the law of God in our hearts through reading the Bible, listening to sermons or podcasts, and enjoying fellowship with others. Find your own way to deepen your relationship with God, then delight in the protection and companionship of your “angel body guard”, and feel the freedom of servanthood which is the wonderful contradiction of our faith.