Yesterday at church, our pastor told the story of Rebekah from Genesis to illustrate selflessness in marriage. I, of course, immediately made the connection to customer experience and wondered what it would be like if everyone acted with the same selflessness and servant attitude that Rebekah had displayed. Read the short passage below for the story.

Genesis 24:1-20

1 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?”
6 “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. 7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”

9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor.

11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.
12 Then he prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.

14 May it be that when I say to a girl, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.

16 The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

18 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.

What Can We Learn?

There are three things that stand out to me about Rebekah’s incredible selflessness:

1. Don’t hesitate to help


Rebekah never hesitated to help Abraham’s servant. She immediately offered her jar of water to him when she was asked. There were not any questions about who he was or what else he wanted. She only saw a man in need and her selfless attitude prompted her to help.

2. Offer to do more


After Abraham’s servant drank from her jar, Rebekah offered to also draw water for his camels. She was not asked to do this, but she was aware of the situation, saw an extra need, and acted upon it.

3. Go the extra mile


Offering to do more is a great way to wow your customers, but you need to be prepared when they take you up on that offer. An average camel can drink up to 30 gallons when rehydrating. Abraham’s servant had 10 camels with him. That means Rebekah needed to draw 300 gallons of water from a well…with one jar. Luckily, Rebekah’s servant attitude and selfless nature meant she had every intention of fulfilling her offer.

What Will You Do?

Have you acted in a selfless way recently? Maybe you’ll have that chance this week. Tell me all about it in the comments.