The man who serves

HAVE you ever dreamt of having a robot who would do all the boring chores around the house, maybe even serving you breakfast in bed?

Robots have long been used in carrying out repetitive tasks, such as assembling cars. Scientists have also been developing robots that can carry out intricate surgical operations.

The use of robots took an unusual turn last month when i-Fairy – a four-foot robot developed by the Japanese company Kokoro – conducted the wedding of Tomohiro Shibata and his bride Satoko Inouye at a Tokyo restaurant.

Developers of technology hope that robots will become a familiar sight in our homes. So should we be concerned that robots may take over or should we embrace the new technology, giving ourselves more leisure time?

In days gone by, having servants was a sign of affluence and power. But if we go further back in history, we find servants who were slaves, owned by their masters and often brutally treated. They were not employees but counted among the chattels of an estate, the lowest on the ladder of life.

In parts of the world, even today, that is still the case. Sudan, for example, has seen a resurgence of slavery since the 1983 civil war. The writer Francis Piol Bol Bok was a Dinka tribesman who in 1986 – at the age of just seven – was captured and enslaved during a militia attack. He was a slave for ten years.

In Jesus’ time slaves and servants were commonplace. Yet Jesus said: ‘I am among you as one who serves’ (Luke 22:27 New International Version).

On one occasion when Jesus was with his closest followers he took a basin and a towel and washed their hot, sweaty feet. It was a powerful illustration of what he meant when he said that he was one who served.

His actions spoke louder than his words. He was prepared to serve, to put himself in the place of a slave.

Jesus challenges those who would follow him to do likewise – to serve others rather than want to be served.

It is a revolutionary idea, but being prepared to serve people in the name of Jesus brings a tremendous freedom and joy.

TSA War Cry June 2010