These Boots Are Made For Service

Several years ago,I traveled with a group of young people from the Lawton churches to help in the relief efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Before we left, we were told we needed a pair of steel toe boots. So I went to Wal-mart to find a cheap pair of work boots, since I thought I would only need them a short time. That week those boots were covered in putrid swamp water, used to kick out rotted walls, scratched, scuffed, and generally abused. When the director of the work told us that we need to leave our shoes outside as to not track in the muck, I just took out my pocket knife and carved my initials on the back so I could identify them later and tossed them against the fence. Regardless of the abuse or neglect I put on them, they did their job well. After I came home the boots spent most of the time in the garage, until I would need them for some chore. They never got polished, rarely got cleaned, and were mostly forgotten. When snow and ice appear, they come in quite handy. They get called on to help shovel the walk, break off ice and keep the cold out. They always do the job and always do it well. The more I think about it they are pretty good boots. 

  Some people are just like my boots. They do their job no matter how dirty or hard it is, no matter how much abuse they receive, no matter how little credit they get.

  Some programs are like my boots. We neglect them. They are never praised or even mentioned. They are there when we need them but we quickly forget them when the need is gone. They go on with little fanfare but they always go on doing the jobs that need to be done and doing them well. 

  I spent this article praising my boots, but they are just an object and really don’t care. Many programs and more importantly the people that run them and do the work can be just as neglected and abused. Shouldn’t we take them time to give them a little praise?

Romans 13:7

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