Greg's Weekly Word: "domestic"

I've gotten quite domestic lately. I clean the kitchen. (No baseboards, though. I don't do baseboards). I make lunches for the kids. (Lunchables count, right?) I do laundry. (Suzy, I'm sorry for shrinking your shirt.)

Now that my kids are in school two days a week and my wife is working five days a week, I have become a stay-at-home husband/father/teacher/custodian/cafeteria worker the three days my kids are home. (And I'm still a pastor every day!) Essentially, I'm overseeing the household, which is what domestic means - "relating to the household," from the Latin domus ("home").

I've also been watching some of the Tour de France over the past week. And I've learned there is a term for riders who work for the benefit of his or her team rather than trying to win the race themselves. They carry water bottles, block headwinds, set the pace, and do whatever else is needed to help their team get This type of rider is called a domestique. (Hence the name of Hotel Domestique in northern Greenville, owned by cyclist George Hincapie.) In French, the word translates as "servant," drawn from the servants who attended to upper-class households.

I'll be honest: I don't really enjoy doing dishes and laundry and helping with schoolwork and preparing meals. And my competitive nature would make it next-to-impossible to ride in a bike race and not try to win. But in these everyday chores and this annual race, perhaps we can see the embodiment of Jesus's teaching, that we are at our greatest when we serve others (Matt 23:11).

How else could we put that truth into action? What kinds of service could we offer that go beyond our own desire to get ahead - to "win"? Service that benefits a larger team or group, maybe even when it does not benefit us at all? Using our power and privilege to support and empower those who have less (or none)? Serving in small ways to allow others to thrive and grow and learn and live abundantly?

Let us know your thoughts in a comment or an email (greg@augustaheights.com). I'd love to hear your ideas and how you envision becoming more domestic, as we all strive to better serve in what the Apostle called "the household of God" (Eph 2:19).

- GJD

#domestic #household #domestique #cycling #church #greenvillesc #gvltoday #yeahthatgreenville