“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.” – John 13:14-16

If we’re honest with ourselves, it’s not very fun to serve. Sure, there are times when a service project or short-term mission trip makes us feel good for a while because we were able to help someone. But the thing about service projects and short-term mission trips is that they don’t last very long. Living a life where we serve other people daily is a whole different story.

In fact, here’s the ugly side of how we typically feel about serving: It’s easy to serve at a homeless shelter or in a third-world country, but in our everyday lives, we think we’re too good to serve others.

But look at what Jesus says after He washes his disciples’ feet. We usually skip over these words when we read this story, because it’s not where the action is: “Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”

Basically, Jesus is saying that when we refuse to serve someone, we’re saying that we’re better than Jesus, or that we’re too good to put someone’s needs before our own.

Where in your life do you think you’re too good to serve others? Is it at home? At school? On your soccer team?

Instead of serving others for our own benefit, maybe we should start by serving the people who are the hardest to serve, because we feel like we’re better than that, or they don’t deserve it.