Day 29

 

Being Taken Advantage Of

 

I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting."

 

Isaiah 50:6

 

 

Laverne and Shirley seemed like such a good addition to the church. (Yes, those are not their real names but what should I call them, Thelma and Louise?) They were roommates and were young and talented, both of them could really sing. Our singles group was growing and everything seemed great.

Then one Sunday night Laverne was singing special music when she suddenly stopped. She stood there momentarily then collapsed to the floor. People rushed to get to her side to help. She was conscious but weak. We helped her to the fellowship hall and got her something to drink. She was asked if we needed to take her to the ER but she said it wasn't necessary, she knew what was going on. The story came out. She was having heart problems.

As the months passed her condition got worse. She worked as a nurse but had to quit her job. Her roommate Shirley had to work to support them both and she soon used up all of her sick days caring for her friend. Some people in the church began to help financially. Laverne's health continued to decline.

I took her to the doctor one day when Shirley could not get off work any more. She went up to the receptionist and they took her straight back in. Later we were all told that she needed open heart surgery to fix the problem and that a day and time and place had been set.

I was in the church office the morning of the surgery when a deacon called. I had been getting ready to go to the hospital but the deacon was already there. He told me he had asked for her at the hospital but that they had no record of her and had no idea who she was. He was wondering what was going on. When I got off the phone with him I called her roommate at work. She said some other friend was supposed to have taken her to the hospital and that she had called the hospital herself only to find out that they knew nothing of her. She worried that something might have gone wrong with Laverne and that perhaps she was at the apartment unable to get help.

I called the apartment and got no answer. The pastor wasn't around so I got the church secretary and the two of us went over to the apartments and explained to the manager that there might be someone very sick in the apartment. He let us in but she wasn't there. The secretary and I were walking back to my car when I saw her. She was wandering around the back of the apartment complex.

I rushed over to her and took her back to her apartment. The real story came out this time. She wasn't sick. She didn't have a heart problem. There was nothing wrong with her. The doctor's office I had taken her was just a place she had worked at before and she had just gone into the back to chat. She had taken advantage of the church and most especially her poor roommate.

When you minister to people you will be taken advantage of. It will happen sooner or later. You can try to be as wise and cautious as you can be but someone will wind up using you. That' okay. It goes with the territory.

In Isaiah there are several of what is called "Suffering Servant Poems." The most well known of these poems is in Isaiah 53. The Jews see the nation of Israel as being the servant who suffers but anyone who has read the New Testament and believes in Jesus can easily see that the suffering servant is Jesus. They are an amazing foretelling of Jesus life and ministry hundreds of years before he walked this earth. And in those suffering servant passages we see that Jesus came to us knowing full well the abusive treatment he would receive. He knew he would be treated poorly yet he came because he loved us. When we are taken advantage of because we are trying to minister we are in good company. We are identified with Jesus and there is no shame in that.

 

Upon Further Review:

 

Read Isaiah 50:4-9

• What happens each morning to give the servant strength?
• Though his back was beat, his hair pulled out and he was mocked and spat on was the servant disgraced?
• Who helps and vindicates the servant?