Great people become great because they have learned to wear an apron. Greatness never comes from wearing a bib. Coach Willie Spears and I wrote a book together in 2021, Bib or Apron. It’s available through our ministry office.
I love the Salvation Army and look forward to putting on an apron and ringing the kettlebells at Christmas. My dad, Si Mathison, was a great supporter of the Salvation Army. He received the highest award they give to volunteers. Frazer was a super supporter of the Salvation Army. We put together a talent show, sold tickets, and gave over $60,000 to the Salvation Army!
General William Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army. He went blind in his later years. His son, Bramwell, had to tell him that the doctor said he would soon be totally blind.
The General asked, “You mean I’ll be blind? Does that mean that I shall never see your face again?”
His son replied, “That’s right, probably not in this world.”
Then General Booth moved his hand across the table and grasped his son. “Bramwell,” he said “I have done what I could for God and for people with my eyes. Now I shall do what I can for God and for people without my eyes.”
Good eyesight is not a prerequisite for wearing an apron.
Jonathan Pinkard is a 27-year-old autistic man who lives in a shelter. He was carried to Georgia’s Piedmont Newnan Hospital and was told that he would need a heart transplant. Because of the fact that he lived in a shelter, he would have no one to help him out with the post-surgery care, so they couldn’t put him on the transplant waiting list.
A nurse, Lori Wood, was caring for him at the hospital and offered to become his legal guardian. Now, she’s white and he’s black. That didn’t matter. In January of 2019, he moved in with Lori.
He had his heart surgery in August. He hopes to recover well enough so that he can get back into society and work again. Lori made a huge difference not only in his life, but in the lives of many people whom Jonathan will serve. Nurses wear aprons!
Arthur Ashe was one of the first great African-American tennis players. The huge tennis complex in New York City is named after him. He talked about heroes and said that true heroism “is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
Arthur Ashe knew that it was in serving that we really find our greatest joy in life. Jesus said, “If you try to save your life, then you will lose it. If you are willing to lose your life in My service, you will find life.” (Matthew 16:25)
You don’t find life by surpassing others in categories that don’t matter – you find life and become a hero when you serve other people at whatever cost. Heroes wear aprons!!
Towards the end of Jesus’s ministry two of His disciples, James and John, were arguing about who was most important and should sit next to Jesus. While they were debating who should be at the top, Jesus took a towel and began to wash their feet. (John 13:1-17) The towel trumps the top in God’s kingdom!
Are you wearing a bib or an apron?
For His Glory 