7th June 2006

'OK God, I'll serve you; just don't make me a servant!
By John Fischer

Sure God, I'll serve (as long as I get a little glory in the process).

So goes a story Julie sent me about her experience volunteering at a local church. It strikes a familiar chord, doesn't it?

As she tells it, an opportunity arose for a group of workers from her church to help a sister church build its place of worship. Being pretty handy herself at staining, painting, and wallpapering, Julie was looking forward to utilizing her skills to help build a house where God would be honored in a special way. She saw it as a way of sanctifying her abilities. She had done all these things in her own home; now she could contribute them to God and his work.

Julie writes: I had such glorious visions of helping, but when I arrived, none of this was a part of what was to be done. Instead, I was assigned the job of cleaning the floors, going behind and sweeping up the sawdust, being sure nothing dangerous was left, putting the garbage out, and generally making sure everyone had what they needed; all the while the men were plastering the walls, wiring, and putting in the baptismal tub in the floor - all the important stuff I wanted to do!

What a difference from what I thought this would be! I finally figured out that God really wanted me to accept whatever he gave me to do with the right attitude. Learning this lesson of humility has served me well so many times since then. If I forget, he is absolutely certain to remind me - and not always in the easiest way either! A humble spirit truly serves our Lord.
How familiar is this? I think we all have had to learn this lesson over and over again. It's almost as if we are saying, “OK God, I'll serve you; just don't make me a servant!” Surprise! God's always got another thing coming!

Something else came to me as I read Julie's story. It might seem that doing this stuff in a house of worship was more sacred than in her own home, but that is not the case. Providing a pleasant environment for people to live, eat, sleep, and relate to each other is no less sacred than building a church. In a sense, our house is a church since it is where people gather for fellowship, prayer, teaching, and worship.

This immediately lends a lot more credibility to the list my wife left me of maintenance things around our house to finish this week while she is off on a business trip. All of this is a part of being a servant and a part of building God's house as well. And besides, I get to do the work and the clean-up. How glamorous is that, Julie! Too bad there's no one to notice (except God).