STEP INTO THE SHOES OF OTHERS

DAY 262 OF 365 IN 2021

Mark 9:35 He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

This text over many years only always took my mind back to the place of service. However today, beyond service, something else popped up as I listened to the homily at Mass today. Anyone wanted to be first but becoming last was a requirement for first place. That in the eyes of many, was regarded as humility.

But a definition of humility that I heard today made me laugh. It was so “humility is not bending yourself so low that you can only see your feet, it lies in acknowledging the limitations of your humanity”. The Gospel text thus brought up an additional dimension: “to desire to be first means getting to also understand what it means to be last”. In other words, you have to place yourself in the shoes of others when you want to think yourself superior to them.

The words ‘I’ve been there before’ introduces a specific layer of relatability to one’s words particularly if it proceeds from an experiential point of view. Regardless, it is often an easier option to render verdicts and draw conclusions from just one single side of an argument. However, before you desire to become  ‘lord’, you ought to have experienced service for only then can you truly relate.

#sly