“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 1:27)
This is one of my favorite texts, because it is a reminder that God expects those who are His to care for those who are in need. We are called to serve. Not only is this our calling, but it should be our heart’s desire. I’m afraid that we sometimes are so spiritual that we forget that our theology is meaningless unless we put action to our words. What we believe is only real if we live it out. Otherwise, it is mere academics.
Some time back, I came home after a 12-hour day, my brain completely wiped out due to exhausting day at the office. I was looking forward to dinner and a relaxing evening. I was already considering which movie I wanted to watch. I changed into lounge pants and a t-shirt, ready to sit down to a delicious meal. However, before I could get comfortable, my wife told me that a family friend needed my help. This friend had a list of questions that needed answers from me. Since these questions involved taxes and financial matters, I was a logical choice to answer the questions.
My initial reaction was to say how tired I was and ask if we could discuss it another time, even though the issues at hand were important and this person was depending on me. I had a general idea regarding the nature of the questions and was not even sure that I knew the answers. Sometimes people think a CPA is an expert in all areas of finance, investing, the law, and so on. This isn’t true, but it accounts for many of the questions posed to me from time to time. With this logic, I convinced myself that I could put the request aside and get on with my dinner and movie. My focus was on my fatigue and appetite.
But, as it often happens, God convicted me of my attitude and reminded me that I was being selfish. This person trusted me, and I knew that if I didn’t know the answers, I could at least refer the questions to someone who could provide those answers. After privately repenting, I listened to the questions and concerns and gave my thoughts and recommendations.
Later as I thought more about it, I was reminded that we don’t live for ourselves. We live to glorify Christ, and we glorify Him best by serving others. I was also reminded that He has given me a healthy body, a healthy mind, and has blessed my life immensely. The gifts He has given to me are not given so that I might curl up in my recliner and live in my own little world. Those gifts are to serve others. 1 Peter 4:10 puts it this way.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
This event occurred at about the same time as I was receiving text messages from our Missions Director regarding an upcoming mission journey. I was part of a team that was soon going overseas to serve others. The focus of these texts, and the theme of that journey was that we are to die to ourselves. Again, God was reminding me of what is truly important. (A side thought. Sometimes we are more excited about serving those in other parts of the world than we are those in our family and community.)
I should note that none of this comes naturally to me, or probably to anyone else for that matter. It’s a struggle, but on this occasion, God reminded me.
We should seek to serve those God places in our path:
- When things are going well.
- When things aren’t going so well. We must look beyond our problems.
- When we’re tired.
- When people annoy us.
- When we don’t like certain people, or people in general.
- When we’re mad at the world.
- When we simply don’t want to.
It’s amazing sometimes if we simply do those things we don’t want to do and continue to do them because they are the right things to do, our stubborn will eventually catches up with our actions. Through simple obedience, God changes us, giving us a heart to serve in ways that once seemed foreign or unimportant to us.
It’s easy to say, “That’s not my nature” or “That’s not who I am.” Both of those statements are true of me. But God will change us if we simply seek to obey. My acts of service are not always the result of willing heart. Sometimes I do the right thing while complaining the entire time. But God will change our nature, and He will change who we are.
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4 NASB)
That is my goal. I hope it’s yours as well.