Look for the Back Seat

 

Mother Teresa instructed her Sisters to always take the back seat on a bus or train. In her wisdom, she knew that the practice of choosing the least desirable location would help keep herself and her Sisters humble. Sometimes a person in authority, seeing Mother Teresa sitting in the back, would invite her to sit up front, and she would follow him to the front with gratitude. Some critics would say, “That’s the same as taking the front seat to begin with!” But it’s not: By taking the back seat, she took the chance that that’s where she’d stay. It required humility to deliberately choose the lowest place and be content to stay there. It also gave the person in authority an opportunity to offer a kind gesture, which she graciously accepted.

 “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” – Mark 9:35

Being humble doesn’t mean you think you’re worthless. It’s thinking less about yourself, not thinking less of yourself. YOU are a beloved child of God with gifts and talents and, yes, weaknesses that make you uniquely equipped to serve Him in the people around you. In this verse, putting yourself last doesn’t mean putting yourself down. Rather, putting others ahead of you builds them up and helps them see how precious and beloved they are, too. Imagine our world if we all did that!

If you’re a person with power, you can still be humble. In the Gospel of Luke, the centurion’s slave was dying (see Luke 7:1-10). At first, this Roman military officer sent messengers to Jesus, asking Him to come to his house and heal his servant. Then, while Jesus was on His way there, the centurion changed his mind and sent more messengers to tell Him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof… but say the word and let my servant be healed.” Maybe at first he wanted to experience what others had seen -- Jesus performing a healing. Soon after, though, he was willing to ‘take the back seat.’ He abandoned the opportunity to witness a miracle and, instead, asked Jesus to heal his servant from a distance, maybe so he’d be healed sooner. The centurion put his servant ahead of himself by acknowledging the power of Christ and dismissing what he could gain from the encounter.

This week, take a lesson from Mother Teresa and the centurion. Look for ways to put yourself in the back seat and put others ahead of you, not in ways that put you down but in ways that pick them up.

“Lord, help me to see how I can lift up the people around me.”

If you enjoy reading these reflections, please tell your friends! Through this blog, I hope to inspire you to ponder a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other persons who may guide you to a deeper faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life.