Is Any Job Beneath You?
Jesus’ final act before the cross wasn’t a miracle—it was humble service. Is any task beneath someone who follows Him?
How often have you thought, That’s beneath me? Maybe it’s cleaning up after someone else, taking out the trash at church, or doing work no one notices. Or perhaps you’ve just graduated from college, only to discover the only job available isn’t what you spent years preparing for. The thought of asking, “Would you like fries with that?” makes you cringe.
One of Jesus’s last actions before his crucifixion was to demonstrate to his disciples that no task is too menial when it’s needed and done in love.
John 13:1 tells us, “It was just before Passover.” Jesus knew he was about to become the true and final Passover Lamb, willingly giving His life “so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life” (John 3:16).
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1 ESV).
John emphasizes two truths: Jesus “knew” His hour of death had come, and He loved his own “to the end.” Jesus’s knowing would bring comfort to his disciples later, when they realized he wasn’t a victim but had willingly accomplished the work of salvation for everyone who would trust in Him.
His love…well, he demonstrated it in a way that seems foreign to us today.
For example, if you knew you were to die soon, what would you do? Take the family on a vacation? Get away to a solitary place to meditate? Go on a shopping spree?
What did Jesus do? He washed his disciples’ feet!
The account is tender. Jesus purposefully demonstrated His love by doing the one task every disciple considered beneath his dignity. Jesus told them, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).
If you live in a place where it’s hot outside, sandals may be comfortable and your feet can get dirty. But up north, at least in Alaska, we don’t usually wear sandals. So, how can we obey Jesus to wash the feet of others and follow his example?
We obey Him by humbly serving people around us in Jesus’s Name. Christian service isn’t mere humanitarianism. Once love for Jesus becomes your motive, no task is beneath you.
Today, look for one unnoticed task that needs to be done. Do it quietly, without expecting recognition or thanks. Then remember whose example you’re following. “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:17 ESV).
