These are the memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.
In late autumn, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was at the fortress of Susa. Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.
They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”
When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said,
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.
“Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’
“The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Actor Matthew McConaughey received the Oscar for Best Actor at the 86th annual Academy Awards ceremony held on March 2, 2014. In his acceptance speech, McConaughey said, "First off I want to thank God, because that's who I look up to. He's graced my life with opportunities that I know are not of my hand or any other human hand..." McConaughey won for his role as Ron Woodroof in the movie “Dallas Buyers Club”.
In “Dallas Buyers Club” (which takes place in 1985), McConaughey’s character, Ron Woodroof, is an electrician and part-time rodeo bull rider who is racist, homophobic, smokes heavily, drinks, abuses drugs, and more. He could be described as a “typical redneck”. Woodroof is hospitalized for an injury, and doctors determine that he is HIV+ and only has about a month left to live. Woodroof is at first angered to think that he has a terminal illness that he thought only affected those with a certain sexual orientation. Over time, he comes to accept not only the fallacy of this thinking…he also develops true compassion and empathy for everyone who suffers from this potentially-deadly virus.
Woodroof learns that there is a drug (AZT) that might prolong his life – or even save him - but it is not available in the U.S. except in clinical trials. He is astounded to realize that he is dying and cannot acquire – or afford – a drug that could save his life. So he sets out to obtain AZT…and he vows to do whatever it takes to accomplish this.
There are a lot of situations in life where we have no compassion for “the other guy” – until we become him/her. Quite frankly, there are many circumstances where we truly don’t care…or we judge and decide that “he/she had it coming.” “She smoked, so it’s no wonder she got lung cancer”…or “He has cheated people for years…and now it’s coming back to haunt him”…or simply “That is none of my concern” or “There is very little I can do to help” are some of the sentiments that come to mind.
In this first chapter of Nehemiah, we meet a simple servant – the king’s cupbearer – who is so moved by the news of the great troubles and disgrace that the Jews are experiencing in Jerusalem that he falls to his knees in tears and begins to pray for them. Matthew McConaughey has a more prominent platform - and probably a broader audience – than Nehemiah. He can use his celebrity status to encourage awareness and empathy for the plight of those who suffer from the injustice and indignity of diseases such as AIDS…and mistreatment because of sexual orientation, social status, race, creed, color, and more. He can publicly credit God for his success…and do so in a compelling manner, as he did during his acceptance speech.
Nehemiah’s audience was much smaller…probably close to non-existent! But He made a point to tell us that “I was the king’s cup-bearer.” In other words, he was a simple, very ordinary servant who did what he could. He prayed for people who were in trouble. He cried, grieved and truly “felt their pain”.
The point is that we may be neither a “Matthew McConaughey” or a “Nehemiah”. Most likely, we fall somewhere in between…and we might wonder just what we could possibly do for others. How could we make a difference? What are we supposed to do from our vantage point? The answer seems pretty clear to me…we are to invite God to use us – however, whenever, and wherever He chooses. We are to truly care about others…and to do what we can on their behalf. This might mean prayer…it might mean public witness and praise of God and the things He has done in our lives…or it might mean taking a stand and becoming physically active in ministering to others.
God may call you to serve in a soup kitchen…offer words of encouragement to someone who is hurting or troubled…or fall to your knees and pray for those who are being persecuted in Ukraine. Our job is to be ready and willing to share love, grace, mercy, and compassion with others in Jesus’ name. God will make us able to do these things!
In my book, Nehemiah did not use his status as a cup-bearer as an excuse…but rather as an example that God can use each of us, if only we are attentive and obedient. What about you? Are you a “cup-bearer” who uses your “status” as an excuse…or a servant equipped by God to minister in Jesus’ name? You don’t have to be an Oscar-winning actor to accomplish great things for God’s kingdom…you just have to be a willing servant. Are you the King’s cup-bearer? Isn’t it time you were?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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