It’s Really Not a Chore

A man worked in a post office. His job was to process all mail that had illegible addresses. One day a letter came to his desk, addressed in a shaky handwriting to God. He thought, “I better open this one and see what it’s all about.” So he opened it and it read:

“Dear God, I am an 83-year-old widow living on a very small pension. Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had a hundred dollars in it which was all the money I had until my next pension check.”

“Next Sunday is Easter, and I had invited two of my friends over for dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with.”I have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. Can you please help me?”

The postal worker was touched, and went around showing the letter to all the others. Each of them dug into their wallet and came up with a few dollars. By the time he made the rounds, he had collected 96 dollars, which they put into an envelope and sent over to her. The rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of the nice thing they had done.

Easter came and went, and a few days later came another letter from the old lady to God. All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened. It read:

“Dear God, How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me?” “Because of your generosity, I was able to fix a lovely dinner for my friends. We had a very nice day, and I told my friends of your wonderful gift. ” “By the way, there was 4 dollars missing. It was no doubt those thieves at the post office.”

Serving others cost you everything.

This is the greatest tool the church has in impacting a community. I really can’t think of a better way to introduce people to the love of God than giving others something they really don’t deserve. We need to be willing  to pay the price. When I use the word price, I am not just talking about money. I am including time, energy, prayer, man power, and a willing heart. As Christ-followers, serving others is what we are called to do. Even if they are as ungrateful as this woman in the story I just shared.

As a pastor, what bothers me the most is that Christians have made serving others a chore (who likes to do chores?). We have made it an inconvenience and an after-thought. We have the attitude that this is something we should do because we are Christ-followers, and we have to do it  which consequently “fills our hearts with joy!” (not really).

Christ followers have made it a chore.

• It’s a chore to work into our schedule
• It’s a chore to show up and give ourselves
• It’s a chore because we make it something we HAVE to do with very little urgency behind it.

If you are Christ-follower, it is something we need to do. It’s not a chore. It’s not an inconvenience, it’s not an after-thought. As a Christ-follower, serving others becomes our lifestyle. It’s not something you have to pray about – serving others is what Christ-followers are called to do. It’s like changing a dirty diaper. You don’t have to do it – you don’t pray about whether or not you should change the diaper– you know you need to do it. It’s not a chore – it needs to be done.  It’s like putting gas in your car when we were paying $3.99 a gallon. It’s not a chore, you don’t have to pray about whether you put gas in your car – it needs to be done.  Like doing your taxes, you don’t like to do it, you don’t pray about whether or not you need to do your taxes, it needs to be done or go to prison.

Whether we like it or not – serving others needs to be done. It needs to be done in your work place. It needs to be done in your home. It needs to be done in the church. It needs to be done among your unbelieving friends. “Needs to” adds a sense of urgency. “Have to” do it adds a sense of drudgery and  there really is no urgency. It becomes more a less an obligation  than a privilege.

A couple of blog entries ago I shared the story of Ann Smith and her husband (missionaries to Japan) taking in a gay man. They told him how much Jesus loved them – his life was change forever.  I also shared a story of a church in San Diego, Ca who was bothered by the fact the gay community thought the church hated them. The church responded to this criticism by investing $10-$15,000 to renovate a park they met in. We need to serve others because it reflects the love of God.

The scripture we are looking at points to the fact that Christ-followers are to be different, think different, and act different from the rest of the world.

Mark 10:43-45

43 But among you (meaning those who follow Christ) it will be different. Whoever (meaning those who are willing to take a risk) wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

To help you understand this verse, James and John just asked Jesus if they could sit on his right and left. The other ten disciples heard their request and naturally were a little ticked off about their request.  Jesus – being Jesus – knew what was going on and he says, “you know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different.

But among …… it will be different.

• You are to think like a servant.
• You are to act like a servant.
• You are to be a servant.

This is a big deal to Jesus.

A bigger deal than who are next president will be.

A bigger deal than the social issues we rant and argue over on Facebook and Twitter.

A bigger death than what you are going to eat after you read this.

Jesus spoke into some of the social issues of his day but he wasn’t a politician. How well he served and loved others was his platform.

He tells us,

• To go the second mile
• To turn the other cheek
• To look at the interest of others
• To share with others whether we like them or not
• To love and serve our enemies
• To forgive others whether we like it or not.
• To go into the world and make disciples

Being a Christ-follower cost you everything. Your time. Your energy. Your money. Your way of life.

Steve Jobs, who is one of my business heroes,  is responsible for the smart phone, the tablet, and other technological advances we are experiencing. Back in 1994 he did an interview with PBS that has some tremendous spiritual insight.

He said this,

When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.
That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is – everything around you that you call life, was made up by people who were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.
The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will, you know if you push in, something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing. It’s to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it.
I think that’s very important and however you learn that, once you learn it, you’ll want to change life and make it better, cause it’s kind of messed up, in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.

Our world is messed up in a lot of ways. Because you are a Christ follower you are called is to change it and make it better. We are called not just to exist in this world but to love others, be kind to others, share with others, speak words of truth to others, and pray with and for others. Because you are a Christ-follower you are to live, talk, and be different.

I’m not talking about hairstyles, tattoos, what you wear, and the many other things we think make us different from other people. Being different is loving Jesus with all your heart mind and soul and then going and loving your neighbors, your spouse, your kids, and your enemies in the same way. Being different is understanding that Jesus is all you need. God knows we don’t need more stuff. Being different is following Jesus when it feels like your life is crumbling around you. Being different is taking the talents and gifts God has given you and using them for kingdom purposes.

Romans 12:2 reminds us,

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

All throughout the scriptures you read about ordinary men, women, and children who have been transformed by God. They literally gave their lives to make this Easter story known which says,  “that God loved them so much that he was willing to give His one and only son,  not condemn them but to save them and give people a hope and a future.”

After Jesus death and resurrection, when plagues ripped through the cities and region the people and religious people would flee to escape death, the Christians responded with a servant heart.  They stayed behind and risked their own health to the meet the needs of the ones who couldn’t help themselves. Many of them died in the process. As they nursed the sick back to health, words of their  generosity spread like wildfire. When sickness came, the pagan priest were the first to leave. Meanwhile, the Christians would take care of the pagans. As the pagan’s health returned they often abandoned their idolatrous ways and turned to Christianity. Not because of theology. Not because of a miracle but because of the generosity, compassion, and the servant heart of the Christians that lived in the community. These Christ followers were willing to pay a steep price to communicate to a people who didn’t know Christ that God loved them.

We simply can’t say to the world, “God loves you”, and expect them to understand this truth. We need to demonstrate it. We need to live it out by serving those around us.

The question that haunts me pretty much every week since I have become a Christ follower and understanding what price God was willing to pay to convince me that He loved me:

“What price am I willing to pay for someone to know they are loved by God?”

Jim Elliot in the 1950’s was willing to give his life so that a group of savages in Ecuador could hear the Easter story for the first time. Over a decade ago, A church in San Diego invested $10-$15000 in a park where a gay community spent their time. They wanted to let them know that they were loved by God.

What price are you personally willing to pay so someone can have an Easter experience – for them to understand that God sent His one and only son into the world because He loves them.

There is a  hymn I learned as a kid that still challenges me today. It is called, “Consecration”.  The hymn itself is a great hymn but I very rarely got past the first line,

“Since Jesus gave his life for me … should I not give Him mine.”

Jesus gave His life for us …. how can we NOT give Him anything less.