December 15:
B.C. verse: Luke 2: 8-12
A.D. verse: John 16:33
Christmas hymn: “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks”
Hymn for today: “What a Savior” by Laura Story
When I was 18 years old, I was in desperate need of money so that I
could go to college. At the suggestion of my mother, I acquired a job as a CNA (Certified
Nursing Assistant) at what was then known as Christian Nursing Center. It was a nursing home, and I spent the next
four years of my summers and weekends there.
It is one of the most difficult jobs I have ever had in my life, and I
often joke that my college graduation present to myself was turning in my resignation–
but not for the reason you might think.
To explain, the physical work was difficult. Lifting and transferring
residents, offering personal care, and walking many miles a shift were taxing;
however, the job was mentally draining as well. Rarely are people in the last
years of their lives at their best, and having to cope with death on a regular
basis took some getting used to.
The worst, however, was working short. For any of you who have ever
worked in a nursing care facility, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The
nursing home at which I worked had two wings, which was staffed (on paper) with
about four to five CNAs to each wing. Typically, a CNA’s list (of people in one’s
care) was something like ten. If one or more people called in sick, the list would
easily and quickly blossom to twenty. In such conditions, it was impossible for
us CNAs to provide the care necessary; that’s what I disliked about the job, and
that’s why I was relieved to turn in my resignation.
In my opinion, CNAs are among the least respected in the world of work.
First, the actual work they do is undesirable and distasteful to most people.
It takes a special person with a compassionate heart to do this job the right way.
Fortunately, most of the people with whom I worked could easily fill that
description. Secondly, a nursing assistant is the lowest on the totem pole when
it comes to nursing care. Technically, they are not nurses, but they are responsible
for direct patient care.
In essence, the CNAs of the modern world remind me of the shepherds in
the ancient world. Like CNAs, the shepherds got stuck doing the work no one
else wanted to do. It was an undesirable, distasteful job, and shepherds were not
respected or acknowledged. The Bible makes it pretty clear that the shepherds
were a sort of social pariah. “That night there were shepherds staying in the
fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep”(Luke 2:8).
Even so (and this makes me smile because I have a soft spot for the
underdog), God chooses to make the big announcement about the birth of His Son
to the shepherds! “Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them. . .Don’t
be afraid! I bring you good news that bring great joy to all the people. The
Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city
of David!” (Luke 2: 10-11).
Not only does God choose the most insignificant city in which to be
born. . .not only does he choose the worst, most disgusting location and
conditions in which to be born; he also chooses to relay the big news to the
most insignificant members of society. He is definitely threading humility into
every aspect of His birth.
It’s been twenty years since I last walked the floor as a CNA. However, working at the nursing home planted
the seeds of a servant heart within me; empathy and compassion are necessary in
my position today, and I wouldn’t be the teacher I am today if I had not had my
job at the nursing home. Humility isn’t a genetic condition; it is a choice one
makes over and over again. God certainly underscored that point as He carefully
arranged the conditions of His birth.
The fatal flaw in humans is our preoccupation with, preservation of,
and protection of self. Putting self before God is what caused sin and death to
enter the world in the first place. As
God enters the human world to extend grace and salvation, it is clear that self
has to take a back seat. . .all the way to the back of the bus. Humility allows
God the ability to drive the bus, and that’s the only way to salvation and joy.
Daily Challenge: Do something anonymously for someone who works in a
service profession today.
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