Me First?

One of the first impressions I have had in Russia is how the younger serve the elder. In the church we are helping, I have witnessed young Russians continually serving us first. They even refused at first to eat with us at our meal times.

In Sasha and Masha's home, the grandma is cared for most lovingly, and the men, both Maxim and Sasha, treat their wives like queens. On Alberts and Anyas birthday, they brought everyone at the work site candy. When the youth have had candy they have divided it amongst themselves evenly.

I have seen the young teenagers take on responsibilities of serving all aspects of our meals and they have made sure that we are first. Masha has worked very hard to instill in her son, as well as the youth in the church that the adults are to be respected and served first. What a privilege it has been to be the recipient of this gracious giving.

And then I have had to take a step back when I think about the youth from America. As a society, we possess more of a me first mentality. I think we have taken our freedoms in America to a place that neglects teaching our youth the basics of common courtesy. I hear the statement, "they are young." I believe that is all the more reason our churched youth need to first of all be grounded in the word. We need to be their examples and we need to hold them to a higher standard.

I pray that we will remember how we were served by very special individuals. I pray that we will remember to esteem others better than ourselves.