Verdict: Guilty!

My jury summons asked a question. “Do you want to serve on a jury?” I am going to be honest and tell you I said, “no.” Jury duty is never convenient. On paper, it was a busy week and I wasn’t sure how I could fit it in.

But I turned my paperwork in, and yesterday, the dreaded day arrived. God began to work on my bad attitude the minute I woke up. Jesus Calling was all about letting go of control. I couldn’t control whether I’d be chosen or not and it was making me a little anxious. I admitted my disgruntlement on Facebook and someone said “God always puts us there where he needs us!” Then another said, “Don’t think it’s wrong to not want to, but we have to be careful that we don’t tell God no when he says go. Nobody wants to end up in the belly of a big fish.” (Maybe I’m a little like Jonah, but at least I was driving in the right direction.)

I am thankful for my Christian sisters who speak truth into my heart.

Convicted, I prayed on the way to court, saying, “Oh, alright. Lord if you want me to do jury duty, I’ll do it, but I want to go on record that I’m not excited about it.”

Once I arrived, the first person I ran into was a cute, bubbly blonde who was all dressed up in a bright turquoise suit. She asked me, “Are you here for jury duty?” “I answered “yes” then she said, “I’m SO EXCITED.”

Really? She apparently wanted to be selected for a jury and was happy to be there. I wondered if she was the exception to the rule. There had to be others like me.

I sat down in a sea of other potential jurors. I tried to get some work done but prayed silently, If there is anyone I am supposed to talk to I pray a conversation will start up. As soon as I prayed that, the woman to my right began to speak.

She told me she really did not want to be selected. I knew there was someone else who had the same attitude I had.

I asked her why it was not convenient for her. She then explained that she was the co-chair for a major event on Sunday and needed to work on the event this week. I found out I was attending the same event she was in charge of. What were the odds of that happening? She could have pushed her jury duty back a month but that didn’t work for her, because her son was scheduled for surgery the next month and she needed to be available for him. I could feel her tension increasing as she explained her situation.

The verdict was in and I was guilty.

I had only been thinking about myself when there were others with more pressing matters to take care of than I had.  I wanted to attend a luncheon the following day, but the women next to me was overseeing an entire event. At that moment I prayed I’d be the one selected for jury duty and not the woman next to me.

I was willing to trade my desire to be freed of this responsibility so that someone else could be free. I thought, Isn’t that what Jesus did for us on the cross?

I was convinced the Lord would take me up on my offer, but then my new friend’s name was called for a jury. Oh no! I looked at her in disbelief and said, “I am so sorry.” I was disappointed God didn’t release her. However, it was just a few minutes later when the bailiff announced that their particular jury trial had been cancelled because of a settlement in the case, and the jury was let go after all. I hugged my new friend and was elated for her, even though I suspected I would soon be serving on a jury.

I learned a few lessons from my day at court. First, it is my civic duty to make myself available to serve on a jury. We are one of the few countries that allow its people to decide the fate of another. I am thankful for the freedom we have in the United States.

I also realized I was not putting others before myself. Philippians 2:4 says, Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (ESV) My agenda was no more important than anyone else’s.

And most important, my schedule belongs to God. From the moment I received my jury summons, I was resistant to serving. Instead, my life should be a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. If that was part of his plan for me, I needed to go willingly and with anticipation of what the Lord would teach me in the process.

So how did it turn out?

While I was not immediately released, I was ultimately not selected to serve on a jury. Believe it or not, when my name was not called, I was actually a little disappointed.