James 1:9
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.

A few months back, I sat in a dark, crowded movie theater and cried…twice. I tried my best to not let anyone see me, not so much because I was ashamed, but because it seemed that I was the only one crying. Parker, Will, and Sydney weren’t. None of the other children in the theater seemed to be, and I didn’t hear any sniffs from the other adults there. Apparently, they thought “Up” was hilarious, and I have to admit that I was surprised to find myself blubbering at a kid’s movie. It is, though, the best movie I’ve seen in a very long time and is well worth the rental if you’re looking for a movie soon.

I don’t want to give it away in case you haven’t seen it, so let me see if I can sum it up this way: a man grows old, gets grumpy, regrets lost opportunities, attaches his house to a bunch of balloons and goes off with a cute (but annoying) boy and learns that some of the best adventures in life come in serving the ones around us instead of our own wants. Yeah, you should probably see it, because reading that makes me wonder how it ever got approved, too!

Sometimes we really start to despise the humble circumstances we can find ourselves in. We sit in our house and – just like the character in “Up” – wish we’d done more, had more, lived more. We want so much more that we turn our noses up to what we have. But the truth of this passage flips all that upside down and tells us that when we’re in humble places, we should take pride in our high position. It truly is in the low places that we find the people who need us to serve them, and in serving, we find the fulfillment of being most like Christ than at any other time.

Attending big churches with lots of great music and cutting edge videos is cool. It’s even fun. Mission trips to foreign countries are like being on “Amazing Race” and can rally get the adrenalin flowing. And I’m not sure if anything can compare to the rush of being in the “ministry spotlight” on a platform in front of hundreds, thousands, or more. But none of those are what we were made for. We were created to worship and serve. That’s it. Sometimes it’s big. Most times it’s small. But every time it’s an adventure.

Don’t let yourself get so lost in getting higher that you miss the opportunities all around you here on the ground. There are people to serve everywhere, and just like the character in the movie, you’ll find them in the most unusual places. Funny, though, that the person he ended up serving the most was always right where he lived. The people God would have you serve are probably near you now, too. Look for them, find them, and serve them.

Lift them up by reaching down, and you’ll find pride in the highest position of all…

…a servant.