James said:
James 2:17 (New International Version)
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
We all want to do something for God to show that we are living our faith out. To be able to show God we are working for Him. To be able to say, “I am making a difference for the Kingdom of God” feels rewarding, but how much are we really making a difference? How effective are we in our service? That is a big question to answer.
It’s a New Year – Lets Get to Work
When I began to write down the list of activities/tasks I try to do in a spiritual sense, I didn’t realize how many things I was involved with. I found this troubling because while I had this list in front of me, there was more I wanted to do. But the question kept coming into my mind, “How can I do more when I have work that zaps 48+ hours of time a week, spending time with family, and all the day-to-day miscellaneous issues/activities that pop up on a spur of the moment?”
I cringed at the thought of removing anything from the list. After all, if I do less, won’t God think I am not pursuing Him? Won’t he think I am slacking or letting Him down?
All these very thoughts bothered me for many weeks. I know that we can’t earn our way to Heaven through works, but I didn’t want to stop trying to do my part for God. What was the answer to all of this?
He Loves Us No Matter What
After some discussion with friends about my thoughts, I eventually went to my Pastor for some direction on this particular issue. Through the discussion and conversation with my Pastor I was able to gather that “God already loves you with His fullest. Doing more for Him won’t change that.” In other words, even if I did 10, 15, 20 things I felt was great for God, it won’t affect his Love for me, just as He loves the sinner – we are all loved to the max by God.
While I have the Love of God, the next few questions were, “Do I have the favor of God in my life? Was I being obedient to His Word? Did I have that strong relationship with Him that He desires to have with each of us?”
Be Faithful in a Few Things
The next piece of advice I was given from my Pastor was, “God would rather see you be faithful in a few things, than trying to do 10 things”. He would rather see consistency across my life, rather than 5 minutes 1 day and 5 hours the next.
Matthew 25:23 (New International Version)
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
While I had the list in front of me, I knew that I didn’t put all of my heart and strength into them because the lack of time or other demands in my life. I had a tendency to treat God in percentages, a big multi-taskable project, where all He would get was fractions of my time, and not quality. Sure, I could look at my list and say, “I did this and this for God”, but what good is that if I only put half-hearted effort into it?
With the realization that God loves me know matter what and that God would prefer for me to be faithful in a few things, I was able then to begin making the list smaller to allow more time in specific areas. Recently, I was asked to join a ministry, but I had to decline because though I said, “Just one more thing won’t hurt … I can do this”, the truth was that one more thing would not bring me any closer to God and that such a ministry requires effort and passion each week, so I respectfully declined at this time.
Each of us has to answer these type of questions as we pursue our relationship with God. Seek prayer and counsel about your situation, and God will set you in the right direction.
A Few Areas of Focus for All of Us
1) Are you reading the Word of God consistently?
2) Are you praying to God consistently?
3) Are you fasting to God consistently?
4) Are you attending Church to Worship God consistently?
5) Are you giving tithes and offerings consistently?
6) Are you consistent in your responsibilities to the ministries or to the church?
7) Are you consistent in your responsibilities to your family?
God doesn’t expect us to be in a “routine”, but by being faithful and consistent in the core areas, God will help further our relationship with Him on a daily basis, and our effectiveness will be so much more increased for the Kingdom of God.
Witness For The Master
