It's not my job

One thing I am proud and thankful for, during my stay in the Netherlands is that I was serving in the local church as a crew (cleaning the floor, sweeping, cleaning toilets and arranging chairs) for more than 2 years - week after week on a Saturday and also on Sunday's after the service. 

It was extremely satisfying to serve, week after week, until I left to India temporarily. The feeling was as if I was pleasing Jesus. 

 The below picture is a 15 year photo of me wearing the church "Crew" T-shirt while sitting on a wheelchair during my recovery post the accident.

 

In Tamil Nadu, we have a new chief minister who won the elections exceeding expectations. 

The social media is now flooded with images of how a street was filled with garbage earlier but after the intervention of the newly elected representative, it has been cleaned by the staff. 

Sadly, the area would become filled up with garbage again. It is not sustainable to keep highlighting the problem time and again on social media. 

"It's not my job" - It's the maid, the sweeper, the peon, the sexton and the garbage man's work. I am educated and in a higher level to do these menial work. 

Sadly I have seen even marriages end up in divorce when a girl was asked to sweep the floor and it caused immense pain to the bride's family. 

 When I moved back to India 13 years back, one of the positions I took at home was that of a "Lead Servant". The announcement was inside my family and I wanted the title and my lifestyle to match. 

Since childhood, I loved doing errands for my friends and relatives. I remember while living in Mylapore, my rich neighbours asking me while on the street if I can work in their home as a "house help". 

Growing up, I loved the poor and their professions. I was not at all ambitious since my Dad was associated only with the poor and the weaker sections and he used to help them. All I could see was their hardships.

However after I got an IT job and moved abroad for a while my thinking changed (Sorry, I started to think) and I had to bridge my childhood dream to serve and my current profession of being a software engineer. 

It started by pushing myself to being fit, using stairs, living in a non air-conditioned setting, travelling in public transport and in unreserved (general train compartments) intentionally. While travelling on trains or using public toilets, I deliberately try to clean as much as I can and endure the stench. Never to litter and carry the waste in my pocket. 

This intentional exercise shaped my character. The only family we employ full time to work with us, saw the home culture and Lokesh surprises us with his work ethic. I remember being complimented "Brother, takes all the trash to the garbage container which is 300 meters away so I should also do the same". 

I love when people working with us treat our home as their own and take care of it well. This pushes me to make the guests feel at home so we all can learn and serve together.

Honestly, if not for the IT job that I currently have, I would be a housekeeping cleaner or have a cleaning company so I can inspire others. 

This is also my heart for the society we live in - "To fall in love with doing the hard things like picking some one else's trash and not consider it as a job beneath our status". 

If only we choose our professions for the joy of working and not as a status symbol.

If only we respect each individual as God's creation and not for their socio-economic status 

If only we see God's creation in the way He intended us to see them.

John 13:14 - Jesus said

"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet"

Follow me as I follow Christ

I remember having many conversations with dad between the end of 2013 and start of 2014 before he passed away.

I would call him during the office hours and have a rant Dad, the HR at my company spoke in this way "Integrity is what you are doing when no one is watching. 

I am surprised that my secular company is speaking in a language better than the Church and I am afraid the latter would become irrelevant" "Why would people want to go to Church if the company they are going to, has a better moral culture than the Church?" 

 I lived my whole life with the awareness that Jesus is watching me 24/7 so I needed to live a life pleasing to God and did live a beautiful life amidst the scars and tears. 

 However I have seen the ugliness first hand of some church pastors and the way they are corrupt, lie, become arrogant, write letters against the church members and do everything in their power to spoil a person's life. 

 I had to give shape to my experiences if I needed to move ahead and not get stuck in my mind. 

The most painful recovery time after my Dad passing away is to wrestle with how "a so called Christian or a Pastor can be unlike Christ and worse than a unbeliever." 

 The more I gave thought to it, the answers were clear:

Instead of going to church to learn and become like Jesus and having a "born again" experience, the traditional christians were interested in having a name and position inside the church. 

This tubelight was donated by Mr X. The roof of the building was donated by Mr Y. My grandfather was a Reverend in this organization. This made them to be focussed only on worldy success and not have a life transformation. 

The other reason was going to church to play a musical instrument or stand on stage before the congregation as a choir. The songs sung by the choir are meaningful and powerful and it is good to showcase your singing talents however this is not the end goal. The end goal is to use your talents to become like Jesus and serve. 

If you want to get married or get a funeral done, you need to become a church member they say and I vehemently oppose it. You can have a funeral in this world via the church and not go to heaven. 

There is this church I am supporting by opening our place from COVID time when masks were on. I took a big risk of setting up and giving them for worship every week because I saw how much there was infighting within.

I wanted to be an example so people would see my sacrifical living and also serve. However I  get upset when I see people take advantage of you and the committe behave like a ganged up political party.

The aim is to do what is right fearlessly and not what is easy [ Colossians 3:23 ]

All these bad intentions of wanting to get name, fame and playing politics inside the church stalls the growth of an individual. There is a need for repentance and revival in the Church. The programs and events need to be prayerfully shaped for a heart change and not for a stage experience. A heart change involves a biblical humility and crying for deliverance from the inside. 

 The only reason I am a strong and convinced believer in Christ is because of my Dad. He was literally not bothered about the church commitees or to get a name in the Church. He was in the streets sharing the good news undeterred by what ever happened in his life or his children's lives. "He lived unknown and died unknown because he wanted to make Jesus Christ popular" is what I wrote about my dad 11 years back. 

He was highly spoken about on stage a couple of weeks back during my aunt's memorial service. I also wish to live that life with the motto as Paul said "Follow me as I follow Christ Jesus" 1 corinthians 11:1 which is what I meditated this morning.