Staff Sergeant Hernandez - on Being Important

Staff non-commissioned officers were always fun to work with.  Staff Sergeant Hernandez was my Supply Chief while I was the Supply Officer at 1st Medical Battalion.  

One Friday after lunch, he was complaining about a phone call he'd just had from a Navy Chief.  The Chief wanted a couple of tents for that afternoon so his corpsmen could practice putting up and taking down tents.  

Ssgt Hernandez had said "no" and was ranting that the Chief should have sent a written request to S-4, at least so many days ahead of time, and on and on he went.  

I listened, shared his frustration, and we talked a bit.  Then I said, "You know, Ssgt, we're really here to support the companies.  If we can help them out, don't you think we should, even if he didn't make a written request?"

He thought about it for a minute and then said, "You're right Lieutenant."  And he went back to his office and called the Chief.  

"Chief, I just talked to my Lieutenant, and I twisted her arm and convinced her; I'm doing you a big favor and you owe me...you owe me big...you can come and get the tents, but you owe me, don't forget that."  

I just shook my head and laughed at his taking the credit!  He grinned and gave me a big thumbs-up.

You see...Ssgt Hernandez and his peers were always posturing, always wanting to be the most important, to have the most power...to have others look up to them or be in their debt.

It was silly and funny at the time...but recall this:

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.  Luke 22:24

The men closest to Jesus argued about which disciple was the most important, the greatest.

And it's no different today.  Everyone wants to matter, to be recognized, to be valued, to be important.  

And it's never enough to be important once or twice; striving to matter is a continual, never ending burden.  And, in the end, it's not even satisfying - just exhausting.

Jesus says two things about greatness and mattering. 

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  Mark 10:43-45

First, Jesus says that greatness comes through service, through selflessness.  And second, He says that we already matter because He, the Son of Man, gave His life for us.

The desire to matter, to be important doesn't just die, but it does have an answer.  And that answer is to look to the One who already died to self; look to Jesus.