Many mornings when I look into the
face of my beloved dog Aggie, as she waits expectantly for me to put food in
her bowl, I ask her, “Why should I feed you again this morning? I just fed you last night? And then you are going to want me to do it
again tonight!” And, as dogs so
wonderfully do, she looks at me with those adoring eyes that say, “David, you
are soooo funny and I think you are awesome.”
You gotta love dogs.
I’ve asked
myself the question of “why bother…” about some other things as well,
though. Why bother cleaning the
kitchen? It is just going to get dirty
again – in 5 minutes! Why mow the
lawn? Grass just grows back. You know, the list can be endless.
Ultimately
there are two reasons we do the things we do:
reward and responsibility. It
would be cruel and irresponsible for me not to take care of my dog. When I got Aggie I made a choice to not only
get the good things, like companionship and unconditional love, I also made a
choice to do the mundane and not-so-pleasant, like feeding her and scooping
poop.
Responsibility
and reward are tightly woven together.
When we step up to our responsibilities, there is a reward that takes
place. When we get up and go to work
(responsibility) we get the satisfaction of making a contribution to the world,
providing for our family and getting a paycheck (reward). When we go to school and work hard at our
studies (responsibility) we get satisfaction from learning, taking steps
towards a greater goal and might even get a good grade (reward). When we do what we are supposed to do
(responsibility) we get what we are supposed to get (reward).
“As each has received a gift,
use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:” (1
Peter 4:10, ESV)
When it
comes to the church we need to think about serving in this way: reward – responsibility – reward. If you are a follower of Jesus, you have been
rewarded with a gift from the Holy Spirit.
That reward – your giftedness – comes with a responsibility. Your responsibility is to use it to serve
others and bring glory to God. When you
carry out your responsibility of serving, you are going to be rewarded. You are going to be rewarded here on earth
with the joy and satisfaction of being part of God’s work in the world. And, you are going to be rewarded in eternity
for your service to God.
Don’t get
me wrong – serving others and serving God is not always a bed of roses and a
laugh-a-minute. You are going to have to
“scoop some poop” along the way. The
choice you have is your mindset and focus.
Are you going to focus on the “poop” or the multitude of blessings you
have and will be receiving.
Serving
with others can help us keep the right perspective when there seems to be more
poop than reward during a particular season.
Together is better.
So, where
are you going to serve? What gifts have
you been rewarded with and have the responsibility to be using for the glory of
God?
For some
help in discovering who you are and how God has gifted you, go to our website (www.coldspringschurch.net) and check out the
“Links” section. There is a spiritual
gifts assessment there. Also, call the
church and sit down with one of our ministry staff. We would love to help you understand who you
are and how God wants to use you. We
need you. The Kingdom God needs
you. Together is better.
Peace,
David
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