At a busy airport there was a lowly shoeshine boy. He wasn’t there all the time, but when he was there, he polished the shoes of businessmen and executives and made them shine. All the men loved how he made them look and always looked for him when they passed through the airport. What they didn’t know is that he was actually the CEO of two large corporations, lived in a million dollar mansion, and was chauffeured to the airport in a black Cadillac limousine. They didn’t realize he knew more than they about good business and that they could have learned a lot from this lowly shoeshine boy.
So why was he serving as a lowly shoeshine boy, beneath the dignity of all he served? He loved doing that work and how it made all those businessmen and executives look their best for what they did. Also he was following the lead of his Master, Jesus. In Jesus’ day it was the lowly household servant that washed visitors’ feet. Yet Jesus took on the role of a lowly household servant to wash his disciples feet. Peter saw the irony of this, that Jesus was in fact their master and should not be acting like a servant, and protested. Jesus told him that if he didn’t let him wash his feet he could not have a part in Jesus’ ministry. He said to be a part of His ministry we all need to wash one another’s feet. We must be servants to others, not their master.
So have you washed anyone’s feet lately? Who have you served beneath your status to make someone else better? The CEO served as a lowly shoeshine boy to make those he served look better and be more presentable in their work.