Sign From Oakland CA
Sometimes what makes us happy makes no sense to anyone else, and that is OK. Now, we know that all of us do stupid things at times. We do things for no good reason, or more often for some stupid reason, but we are not talking about those times. What we are talking about is when people enjoy, or find joy in, things that others do not.
We all know people that love to work on cars, or with wood, or on scrapbooks, or with pottery, or even in their yard, but we may not personally like those things at all. In almost every case, this same situation holds true in the church as well. Every church seems to have those few special people that really enjoy working on the physical needs of the church - plumbing, painting, electrical, etc. However, most people in the church do not enjoy these things, and they do not understand why these other person enjoy such things. In most churches you will find a worship leader who enjoys leading music and praise, yet few others in the church would receive joy from leading that activity. The same is true of pastors and small group / Sunday school teachers. Most would be afraid to even stand up in front of the church / class, and to ask them to actually speak or lead would be to much to ask of them. Yet, there are some that enjoy and even thrive on such activities. Those people are special and unique.
Our point is this is that God creates us all uniquely, and we need to enjoy and embrace that uniqueness. To many times we look at others gifts, ministries and actions and ask “Why are they doing that?” We may even say “They are crazy to do that”.Instead, we should be saying “Wow I am glad they are gifted to do that because I am not. Anyway since they enjoy it, and are doing it, I can get back to what I like and what I do well.”.
Understand, we are not saying we should not volunteer to help others. In fact we would encourage every Christian to do the things that God calls them to do, even if they do not enjoy them. Honestly, there will always be ministries that we do not receive the same joy and pleasure from as others. We just have to accept that some people are gifted and called to things that we do not enjoy.
God may call you to help paint a room for a shut in, and you may hate to paint. However, the right thing to do is just do it. Don’t worry God will bless you for it, but you will never receive as much joy from painting that room as the person that is in charge of getting all the work around the shut-ins house done. Remember our call is to serve, not to always receive great pleasure while serving. God blesses what we do for Him, even when it is things we do not enjoy.
Simply put, we need to allow God’s people to use the gifts that He gives them. We also need to be sure that we allow people to use those gifts in the ways God calls them to be used. Understand that we are not saying that just because someone’s says they are doing what God called them to do we should give them a pass. The second part of our previous statement takes care of those that are outside of God’s will, ie. using the gifts how GOD calls them to be used.
Someone simply saying that they are “using their gifts for God” is not sufficient. We need to always stand for God’s way, even if it is not the popular way. That means examining the fruit and intent of the work. However, if we examine the work and it does not contradict God and He is blessed by it, then let the work go on. Do this even if you do not understand or enjoy the ministry personally.
Too many times we ask “Why?” or question people’s actions or activities when we simply need to say “That is great for them.” We are all fulfilled differently. Stop trying to impose your plans and goals on the lives and ministries of others. Doing this removes their uniqueness from the equation. It also attempts to make God a liar for creating something different then us. We are not the ultimate judge of how, when, where and how God’s will and work should and will be done, God is. Trust Him to do His job, stop worrying about everyone else’s duties, and get on with your own duties.
Basically today we are encouraging you to continue your path of following God. You should always serve God wherever and whenever He calls. We also encourage you to help others do the same, even if it is a ministry or task that you do not personally like, enjoy, or even understand. We know that is hard when the call, be it yours or another’s, seems weird or odd. Allow the work of God to continue, no matter how odd it seems. Doing this is vital to maintaining the uniqueness of each believer, and it allows those that are serving to be blessed. To do this you must allow those around you to serve in their areas, not just in the areas you are called too. Have a great day and know that we are being blessed by you reading this because we are serving where God has called us.
