Leadership Thought: Will You Be an Oil Can Carrier?

Dear Friends,

I'll never forget the story I read in Streams in the Desert, a devotional I used for many years. I don't know whether the story is true or just a legend, but that matters not. What matters is the truth this little story communicates about how we can serve others by doing little and menial things. 

It seems there was an elderly man who always carried a little can of  oil with him everywhere he went, and when he would go through a door that squeaked, he would squirt a little oil on the hinges.

If he encountered a gate that was hard to open, he would oil the latch, and so he went through life, lubricating all the difficult places, making it easier for those who came after him. 

People called the man eccentric, strange and crazy, but he went steadily on, often refilling his can of oil when it was nearly empty and oiling all the difficult places he found. (Streams in the Desert, December 8th)

You and I are called to be, "oil can carriers."

As we walk through life, we ought to be looking for those opportunities to make life a little easier for those we meet. We ought to be looking for those opportunities to lubricate the lives of both friends and strangers with a little oil of gladness, joy, generosity, kindness, compassion. 

There is always someone whose life could be made different because of the oil we spill on their lives, whether it be the oil of a kind word, a smile, a letter of appreciation, or a phone call.

It doesn't take much of an effort to lubricate the lives of others with the love of Jesus, so keep that oil can with you wherever you go and look for opportunities to make life just a little easier for those you meet along the way.

Sometimes the most significant service that we can render for the Lord is found in doing things that the world calls 'menial.'

Colossians 3:23-24 is a verse I sometimes include after my name when writing a personal note. It's meant to be a reminder to me, and a challenge to others to be oil can carriers.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." 

"Lord of all pots and pans and things,

Since I have no time to be

A saint by doing lovely things,

Or watching late with Thee,

Or dreaming in the dawn light, 

Or storming heaven's gates, 

Make me a saint by getting meals, 

And washing up the plates. 

Although I must have Martha's hands, 

I have a Mary mind;

And when I black the boots and shoes,

Thy sandals, Lord, I find. 

I think of how they trod the earth,

What time I scrub the floor;

Accept the meditation, Lord,

I haven't time for more.

Warm all the kitchen with thy love,

And light it with thy peace;

Forgive me all my worrying

And make all grumbling cease.

Thou who didst love to give men food

In room or by the sea,

Accept this service that I do-

I do it unto thee."

Let's fill up our oil can today and carry it with us wherever we go. And remember, it only takes a drop or two of oil to gladden someone's heart, or to lift someone's spirit. 

But let me offer you a warning. Like the man in the story, oil can carriers are not always understood. 

Sometimes the world might think you are a little strange or even eccentric as you carry your little can of oil through life. But isn't that what many thought about the greatest oil can carrier who ever lived? Yes, his name was Jesus, and with the oil of his love, he lubricated the sharp edges of many sin- hardened lives and left them ready to receive the oil of gladness that would forever change their lives

Go for it, oil can carriers. Fill up those cans and start looking for ways to make a difference in someone's life.

Yours in faith and friendship.

Tom