As a pastor, I have the honor of working with heaven's greatest treasure — the people of God. Each week I watch hundreds of men and women of God give hours and hours in service to Christ. It is one of the greatest acts of worship I witness, as individuals give of their most precious possession, their time.
Occasionally though, I pump into one of these wonderful Christ followers who has lost sight of the true reason for their service. Their service is no longer an act of worship and devotion, no longer a gift given to God, but an obligation to fulfill. They no longer speak of their time given to God in service as life-giving or joy-filled. They begin to speak of their service as a burden. They talk about how it robs them of energy and days off.
They compare the size of the gifts commenting on how much they give and how little others give. They become critical of church leaders. Stinging the hearts of the pastors with statements belittling the kind and amount of work done within the church compared to their jobs. They forget that their pastors and church leaders have given their LIVES in service and worship.
Sometimes pastors get caught in this trap. They want more recognition for their hard work. They compare their ministry to other ministries across town. They take on a martyrs mentality that declares, you don't know how much I've done for this church.
I believe we all have seasons where we can dip into this attitude. When we do, I believe scripture is the best medicine. For myself, I turn to 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
"Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;" (NASB)
This passage is often quoted in regards to money. However, it has application across all gifts of worship. God does not demand our time of us. He allows us to give our time as worship. We must be careful to give that which we have purposed in our hearts to give to God in worship. Not more than what is on hearts and not less. Our gifts should be given cheerfully, not coerced out of us.
Let us be careful to guard our attitudes and give our gifts (time and money) with all the love and joy befitting our Savior. And when we find ourselves complaining about what are giving, let us be quick to evaluate our own hearts instead of comparing the size of our gifts to the size of others.
As always, I look forward to your thoughts.
