Persona Non Au Gratin

Do you know how glorious it is to speak at an event that's directed by a thoughtful and gracious event coordinator? Those are the trips that are somewhere near heaven. Ah, to be chauffeured about, fed the best meals from the finest restaurants, then transported to a posh hotel, only to find a gorgeous gift basket already delivered to the room. With a bubble bath waiting, the bed turned down and a mint on the pillow; it's good to be queen.

Okay, no one knows as well as I do that I don't deserve to be treated like a queen. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it, does it?

Do you know when I truly realize that I've been unduly treated like royalty? When I get home. It's like a whiplash into reality. One second I'm signing books and greeting the complimentary crowds; the next I'm walking in the door to kids who barely manage, "Oh Mom, it's you. I'm glad you're home 'cuz we're out of milk." I'm suddenly "persona non au gratin" (no longer the big cheese). It's so funny that I can go straight from the applause of a gracious audience to cleaning the cat box.

While I admit that I love my short reigns as queen, I have to tell you that there's something quite comfortable about coming home to milk-fetching, cat-box-cleaning servitude. Living with an entire brigade of pride police really isn't a bad thing.

Humility can be so tricky. Once you realize you have it, it's probably a point of pride... and then it's gone! The best way to stay humble is to stay focused on Christ, our example. We're told in Philippians 2:5-7 to have his attitude. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to deatheven death on a cross!"

Jesus was true royalty; not the temporary, speaking-event kind. He is rightly called the King of all kings. Yet this passage tells us that He didn't hang on to those rights as royalty. He pushed them aside on our behalf and took on servant status. Imagine leaving the splendor of a Heaven beyond any five star hotel we can imagine to serve and to unselfishly give His life.

I really do want to be like Him. I want to humbly serve before any crowd. And I want to humbly serve as I load my shopping cart with four gallons of milk. Proverbs 15:33b says, "First you learn humility, then you experience glory." (The Message) By his grace, there's glory before the crowds. I truly believe that in humble surrender, by His grace, there's glory in cat box too.

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Rhonda Rhea writes for dozens of Christian publications and speaks at conferences and events across the country. You can find her newest books, Soup for the Soul--Tastes Just Like Chicken, and Amusing Grace, at your local Christian bookstore. Who Put the Cat in the Fridge--Serving Up Hope and Hilarity Family Style will be available in March. Rhonda's husband, Richie Rhea, is a pastor in Troy, Missouri. You can reach them through her Web site.