Matthew 22:16
They sent their disciples to him along with
the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of
integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You
aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.
1 Corinthians
4:3-4
I
care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not
even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.
It is the Lord who judges me.
One
of the things I have struggled with throughout my ministry life is the feeling
of living in the shadows and being unrecognized. I have often felt that all of
the recognition went to the pastors of large churches or to “successful” church
planters who could boast of extraordinary growth. As the pastor of a mid-sized
church that experienced moderate growth, I often felt ignored. I rarely saw
pastors in my situation asked to speak at denominational conferences or pointed
to as examples of faithful service. I often came away from conferences feeling
beat up and more discouraged than when I arrived. Then one day, I realized that
I was standing in a shadow of my own making.
Pastors
are notoriously susceptible to two major spiritual pitfalls; comparing
themselves and their ministry to others, and feeling a lack of affirmation. I
confess that I have fallen into both; and on more than one occasion. Pastoral
ministry is demanding and often draining. There are so few tangible indicators
of how we are doing that we grab ahold of whatever we can. That usually leads
to an obsession with numbers. Worship attendance, number of baptisms, number of
programs, number of hours spent in ministry all become focal points. Of course,
numbers always lead to comparisons. How do my numbers stack up against other
pastors’ numbers? A focus on numbers is a double-edged sword. Numbers are an
important indicator of what is happening, but, given too high a priority, they
lead us into the dangerous game of comparison and competition.
The
fuel that drives our competitive spirit is the desire for recognition and
praise. Subtly we are looking for the praise of men to affirm our value and
worth. Jesus made it very clear that when we seek the praise of men we are
focused in the wrong direction. In the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in
Matthew 5-7, Jesus didn’t soften His words when it came to seeking the
affirmation of others. "Be careful not to do your 'acts of
righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no
reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1) Jesus made His point
very clear as He went on to address the issues of giving, fasting, and praying.
When we do these important acts with the intention of gaining the praise of
people, we take away their real value.
I
have often heard it said that in our worship and in our acts of service we need
to play to an audience of one. That one being Christ alone. Hebrews makes it
clear that our focus needs to be squarely on Jesus. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the
author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the
cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not
grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2-3) This passage highlights one
of the key issues related to our spiritual journey. If we focus on other
people, we will grow weary and lose heart. I can attest to that from firsthand
experience. If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we will not grow weary and lose
heart.
Weariness
is a major issue for all Christians, but especially for pastors. Most often our
progress seems slow and arduous. It is easy to become discouraged. The more
that we succumb to the comparison game, the more discouraged we will become. To
combat weariness, we need to keep the long view in mind. Just like to farmer
who plants seeds in the ground and then has to wait for the harvest, so we need
to cultivate spiritual patience.
Genuine
faithfulness will always be rewarded by God. Jesus made that clear in Matthew
24:45-47. "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has
put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the
proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so
when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his
possessions.”
In a
past century, a faithful missionary couple returned home to America after a
lifetime of service on the foreign field. As their ship docked and the
gangplank was lowered to the platform, they watched as a brass band began to
play, welcoming their arrival. Soon a group of prominent men descended the
gangway to the cheers of an assembled crowd. As they made their way into the
terminal, the platform emptied, leaving the missionary couple to disembark
unnoticed. The husband turned to his wife very discouraged. “We have faithfully
served our Lord most of our life. Yet, no one seems to notice or care.” The
wife smiled at her husband. “Dear, that is because we are not yet home.”
Many
of us stand is a shadow of our own making. We desire affirmation and
recognition, and when it does not come, we get discouraged. We need to remember
that God is not ignorant of our service. We will reap our reward, if we remain
faithful.
Galatians 6:9
Let
us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up.
No comments:
Post a Comment