Behind the Scenes

A rainy bank holiday seems to lend itself perfectly to a Downton Abbey marathon.  And that is exactly how I have spent today.

 

I'm always torn as to whether I would prefer to be 'upstairs' or 'downstairs': obviously upstairs get beautiful dresses and have a relatively easy life, but downstairs is full of intrigue.  Plus, I've always liked the idea of using servants' staircases and 'secret' passageways.

 

Watching it today, I was struck by how invisible some of the servants were - and had to be.  Their job was to serve the family without being seen. 

 

They worked behind the scenes.

 

Daisy, who usually works in the kitchens, is told off in one episode for still being above stairs lighting fires when the family are up - there is the fear that she might be seen.  The family, of course, know of her existence (after all, they hired her), but she is never meant to be seen by them.

 

It got me thinking about the way that we serve and our attitude towards it: sometimes we are quite the opposite of invisible.  If I have to get up early to set up stuff for church, I'm going to put it as my Facebook status - here at 8am!!!  If I'm the last one to leave because I'm packing everything away, I'm going to be sure to mention it in a conversation next week.  If I have to pay for something with my own money, I'll drop it into a conversation, by telling everyone that I "don't mind at all".

 

But is that really the servant heart that Jesus calls us to?

 

In the Sermon on the Mount, He said to His disciples -

"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it.  It might be good theatre, but the God who made you won't be applauding.  When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure — 'playactors' I call them — treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds.  They get applause, true, but that's all they get.  When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks.  Just do it — quietly and unobtrusively.  That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

 

[Matthew 6:1-4 MSG]

 

Jesus calls us to work behind the scenes, unobtrusively, quietly, humbly.  Serving others in the same way that He served us: without drawing attention to our efforts. God sees what we do in secret - behind the scenes - and He rewards us for it:

"Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

 

[Matthew 6:4 NIV] 

 

When it comes to serving, like Daisy, we should be invisible.  People should be able to see what we have done, but they don't need to know who has done it.  Our aim should be for people to see Jesus through our acts of service, not for them to see us.

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

 

[Matthew 5:16 NIV]