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It’s easy to stay busy in ministry and still lose sight of why we serve.
I think it’s easy to, over time, lose focus on the big picture of what we do and why we do it in church technical or creative ministry.
Initially, there’s a surge of excitement, knowing that we play an active role in bettering communities and helping people experience the life-changing power of Christ. But as time goes on, it’s natural for this perspective to begin to change.
Maybe we feel underappreciated and overlooked. Maybe we feel like we’re being taken advantage of and aren’t properly compensated for our time. Maybe we feel like we’re constantly being asked to sacrifice our lives over and over, and our questions or feedback continually fall on deaf ears.
A master is someone you work for. A Lord is someone you willingly serve
Perhaps we’ve come to believe that we’re just a cog in the machinery that only serves to fulfill a task and is easily replaceable. Or we think that what we do is no longer necessary or doesn’t matter. Or we see others grow in visibility or influence and become frustrated that we feel stuck.
Doubt starts to creep in. Cynicism, bitterness, and jaded hearts can follow. We convince ourselves that since we’re in the background all the time that it really doesn’t matter if we adhere to the same cultural or spiritual expectations of others and we allow ourselves to compromise our standards or neglect our spiritual lives altogether.
Before we know it, despite serving in an environment conducive to changing and bettering our lives, and being in proximity to some potentially amazing leaders and influencers who could help us grow in unfathomable ways, we’ve tuned out everything around us and focus on the frustration that comes when we become selfish and only look at ourselves.
Holy Week is a natural time each year to reflect on the story of Christ and all his sacrifice and crucifixion brought to us, and while we all were doubtlessly busy over the last several weeks preparing for Easter services, surely we were able to at least take some time to reflect on the significance of the season and appreciate it all. Over time, though, the feelings heightened by the “immediacy” of the season tend to fade into the background, and it can be easy for their impact to become lessened as the year progresses onward and we are distracted by other things.
When serving becomes about what we’re getting, something has gone off track
Despite the busyness of life, one of the lessons I try to keep close to heart even as Easter fades into the rearview is the story of Judas Iscariot, and “what could have been.”
Like the other 11 disciples, Judas was handpicked by Jesus to follow him. Scripture never notes how he was selected or what his approach was, but he was fortunate to be in an inner circle with the Son of God. What an amazing experience!
He had a front-row seat to countless miracles and lives being changed. In fact, he also had a hand in miracles, as he would have helped break bread and fish that multiplied at the feeding of the 5,000. He also was sent out, as told in Luke 9 and Matthew 10, with the power to drive out demons, cure diseases, and heal the sick, and it’s likely that he actually experienced those things!
But somewhere along the way, despite being with Jesus every day and seeing His ministry up close, he made the choice to not allow his heart to fully submit to Jesus’ lordship.
Maybe he felt like he wasn’t getting enough attention, or that Jesus was getting too much. Maybe he believed that the group should have been able to profit off of the miracles that were taking place, which would have allowed him to personally profit also (as John 12 notes his penchant for doing).
Staying grounded starts with remembering why we serve
Whatever the reason, the bitterness and hardened heart that resulted allowed Satan an open door to enter and tempt him for betrayal.
As Jesus spends the Last Supper with his disciples, He notes that one of them will betray him. In shock, Matthew 26 notes that the go around the table, each repeating an incredulous, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
When it was time for Judas Iscariot, he posed a similar, but tellingly different, question: “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Some translations use the word “master” instead of “Rabbi,” which is a formal title directed to a teacher.
See, the difference between Judas and the other disciples was how they chose to see Jesus. Eleven of them saw him as Lord, the one they willingly chose to give their lives to and serve, knowing His direction and presence would change and guide them. It may not have been easy, and they had to give up a lot, but by placing Him at the head of their lives, they knew that submission to Him was the key.
At some point, Judas committed to see Him differently. Jesus wasn’t his Lord, but he was instead a Rabbi, a teacher whose intellectual and spiritual teachings he listened to, and whose social standing would have increased based on the number of his followers, or a Master, a boss he worked for each day who was being enriched by his employees’ efforts.
Judas saw his relationship with Jesus as one in which Jesus was benefitting from the former’s work and effort, instead of understanding that by making Jesus his Lord, Judas would have been the one benefitting from that level of submission.
Maybe that’s where we find ourselves today. Maybe our hearts have gotten hard and corrupted by frustration, and it’s affected how we see God, our ministry, and even ourselves. Maybe we’ve become selfish instead of selfless, and it’s time to change our perspective by first choosing to change how we see Jesus.
We have a prime opportunity to learn from Judas’ mistakes and ensure that our hearts in ministry stay pure so the Lord can continue to work in and through us.
A master is someone you work for, knowing your efforts are seen purely as work that delivers results. A Lord is someone you willingly serve, knowing that their focus is to enrich your life.
Which one is He to you?
