are you a humble do-er?

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

John 1:5-10

I think a lot about John the Baptist, one of the most important prophets of our time, yet also one of the most humble. Upon readying Jesus for His baptism, he told Jesus how he wasn't fit to baptize Our Lord, yet Jesus instructed him to do it anyway. John knew that his mission was an important one.   
"I baptize you with water for repentance but after me comes one who is more powerful than I; whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire!" Matt 3:11

Let's finish that thought:  "Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17

John knew his mission and carried it out. Next thing he knows, a Voice from heaven cries out, giving all praise to Jesus...was that right? Jesus? Now, John could have had his moment, too. He could have given himself that proverbial pat on the back, puffed up his chest and said, "well, you know, God, I DID have something to do with this also! Where's MY glory??"

But he didn't. he went on, baptizing people, doing the work he knew he was meant for.

Then he was imprisoned...beheaded...

and all for spreading the news about Jesus.

Huge sigh.

Have you ever been in a situation such as this? You do all of the prep work and someone else comes along and steals your thunder. what to do, what to do, right?

Be gracious anyway. Be humble anyway. If you look at life and science, a river has to get its start from somewhere. A building begins with the basement, located deep underground. A museum is awesome in its architecture, but no one goes to the underground, points and responds with, "ah, yes, look at the bricks and mortar there, they have an important job to do and we are all here to pay homage to it."

I say, do it anyway. Be the bricks, the mortar, the one who works hard, yet receives very little recognition. Do what you must because it is the RIGHT thing to do, not because you'll receive an award along with a splash on the TV news, just do it because somewhere, someone needs a hero right about now. Somewhere, someone needs and advocate and being an advocate may not always be the popular job, it may not win you any brownie points, heck, you just may end up between a rock and a hard place like John the Baptist was...but just do it because you know, in your heart of hearts that it is the RIGHT thing to do.

"but when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be done in secret. And your father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you." Matt 6:4