Serving the Unreasonable

1 Peter 2:18 says:

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gently, but also to those who are unreasonable.

This doesn't just apply to literal slaves. As we are supposed to be slaves for Christ, living our life in servanthood to God. He says whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me- so we are to serve one another. We serve one another by kindness, by giving assistance where we can, and by looking for the good in people. We serve one another at our jobs by not slandering one another, and by doing what we were hired to do with a gracious heart because we have a job.

But one of the hardest things for me is learning to be serving and kind to those that are unreasonable. When I feel left out, or excluded, I sure don't want to go out of my way to make sure you have an easy day. I don't want to be nice and swallow my hurt feelings towards those that have excluded me. Or parents that are unreasonable about their child's behavior- I sure don't want to have to serve them in kindness. Because I am a creature of immensely hurt feelings. I've learned to deal with this, and not always to the best of my ability. But the point is, we are called to serve, even when we are hurt. Even when we don't like what the person has done. We are to serve them by offering forgiveness, whether they deserve it or not. We are to serve them by watching our tongue and offering only encouragement.

It's easy to serve when the people you are around love you. When you know they'll go out of their way to help you, or they are believers in the faith and easy to get along with. How much harder it is when they have lied to you, or have judged you, cussed you, or even hit you. How much harder when they ignore your needs, and like to argue. How much harder, but how much more necessary it becomes to serve them in gentleness and goodness. Because maybe someday that is what they need to truly see the Creator of the universe.

If you have ever read the "Mark of the Lion" trilogy by Francine Rivers, there is a part of the book where the owner is getting beat by her husband. She has been very mean to her slave, and did some horrible things to her, but as she was getting beat, the slave runs and throws herself over her master to take the beating, and is left half-dead. I wish for the heart to be like that. To not matter what was done, but be willing to serve and do what I can to claim the world for Christ.