"Doorkeeping" Tasks (#14 of 365+)

In Korea, as in many Asian countries, the surname is placed first in front of a person’s given name. So instead of John Smith your full name is Smith John. Children inherit their father’s family
name and, traditionally, a woman honors her father and doesn’t change her last name even when she gets married.

My mother was raised in rural Korea during the 1940’s. Back then, Korean society consisted of two classes of people: the Have’s and the Have-not’s. Since my mother's father owned land and had a few servants ("bond servant" would probably be a more accurate term) her family was in the upper class. She was the youngest girl of seven children and took a great deal of pride in being her father's daughter. She still describes how noble her father looked as he enjoyed his long smoking pipe at the end of the day.

I don’t know if the following was the same experience for all Koreans or if it was only because my mother’s parents were believers in Christ but whether you were slave or free, male or female, everyone was expected to work and contribute to the harvest. No one was too good to get their hands dirty. All women of both classes worked right next to each other and all the men did the same with each other. My mother grew up knowing how to plant and harvest crops, cook, clean house, and do laundry by hand in a cold stream that ran past their home. Even though she basically worked much like a servant girl, there was never a time when she was mistaken to be a servant girl. Somehow there was still a clear distinction between classes. Perhaps it was because of the way the servants respected her and called her by her father’s name first. Or maybe it was because her speech and demeanor revealed her true heritage.

Joni’s devotional for today talks about the heart attitude of a believer when it comes to doing menial work (Psalm 84:10). If we think our identity is tied to the type of work we’re doing or not doing then we’re useless for the sake of the Harvest. However, if our identity is in our heavenly Father then no matter what we can hold our heads up high. Our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. We can bear the name “Christian” with pride.

Father, thank you for my new identity in you. Mold me and make me willing to do the work that is required for a bountiful harvest. Help me to also have the same attitude in the work I do for my employer. May I always remember that I am a child of The King and no amount of dirt, sweat, or tears can ever take that identity away from me. Amen.