But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26 It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:25–28 – NASB95
Our culture is obsessed with gifted people. From entertainers to athletes, people love to praise and honor people who do what they cannot do or can do it profoundly better. Thousands of people pack arenas and stadiums to applaud people like that. They love “doing the wave” during the game and wildly cheering for the player who hits a walk-off grand slam to win the game. I think it’s good to rejoice when God gives people the ability to do the things we can’t do.
But today, I want you to think about people God gives to us who do things we don’t want to do. There are a number of people in our church who do those things tirelessly and we should go out of our way to thank them. But today I’m thinking specifically of our maintenance and custodial team. Headed by Darren Reeves, his team of Chris Jensen (CJ), Osloy Alvarez, and Jake Pircey, do an unbelievable job making our church facilities useful and enjoyable for the rest of us.
What do they do? Glad you asked. Here’s an extremely partial list just to get you started thinking about how much you appreciate them:
- Mowing, edging, and blowing our whole property (almost an entire city block). Frequently fixing sprinklers and controllers.
- Trimming trees, bushes, and plants. Replacing soil, fertilizing, and planting new plants and flowers.
- Painting buildings inside and out.
- Constant repairs of electrical, plumbing, drywall, light fixtures, toilets, sinks, faucets, Internet, WiFi…
- Vacuuming and cleaning carpets, sweeping/mopping/waxing floors.
- Moving / setting up tables & chairs for events.
- Hauling trash from every room on the property to the dumpsters.
- Setting (and fixing) thermostats to maintain proper temperature in every room according to its daily usage.
- Repairing roofs / stopping leaks.
- Handling security issues throughout the week. Contacting police when necessary.
- Calling, directing, and assisting outside vendors for special maintenance needs. Getting bids on major projects to be submitted to the church leadership for approval.
- Handling daily requests from church staff for things that need to be fixed, cleaned, moved, etc.
- Often having to come at odd hours to get specific jobs done in time for the rest of us to use the property.
And they do all of that and so much more with Spirit-filled joy! Rain or shine, I observe them working hard, doing jobs most of us do not want to do, with great attitudes. They do their work heartily for the Lord rather than for men (Col. 3:23-24), and they aren’t seeking praise. But men like that are hard to find and should be cherished by all. Please seek them out and let them know how much you love and appreciate them and what they do. Maybe even give them a tangible gift to let them know they are a gift from the Lord to all of us.