| High-maintenance continued.... |
| He further chastises them by explaining that in fact he had every right and authority to ask them to support him, but did not do so as an example to them: "not because we did not have authority [or the right to support], but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us [or our behavior]." Paul's answer to the question of how to reverse and correct this high-maintenance life-style is clear and unequivocal: "Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. " II Thess. 3:12 Action steps to defeat a high-maintenance attitude and lifestyle Look around you. There is much to be done in the church. Transportations of people both to church and to work. People who need jobs and job opportunities. Chores to be done for the elderly and those who are unable to do the work themselves. Visiting prospects. Bulletins to type and print. Food to be prepared for fellowships, sot hat one or two persons are not overworked and overwhelmed by the burden of it. Refreshments to prepare for Mission chapel services. Sunday School classes to teach. Buildings to be kept clean and maintained. Men and women to assist in a variety of things. Gutters to be cleaned. Snow to be shoveled. And on and on... Take some initiative; don't wait to be asked to help. If you see something that you feel needs to be done, ask about it and be willing to jump in and do it if you have the ability to do so. "Gird up your loins," as the Bible puts in, and get moving. A primary indicator and trait of a high-maintenance Christian is a lack of initiative and a glad willingness to assist others. Such people display the tendency to inertia, that is, the tendency to come to a stop if not forced to move. Do not expect return or reward for your gracious services. That is not the motivation of Christian people, but our work is "as unto the Lord." Don't expect others to laud and praise you for your service, for the Lord "who sees you in secret will reward you openly." This, then, is commendable Christian service, and not high-maintenance Christianity. Be diligent in what God has already given you to do in His providential arrangement of your life. Are you out of work? Be diligent in searching for a job, in doing all that is necessary to find suitable work. God has ordained that His purposes in your life are to be accomplished by your actions and labors, not by waiting upon the Lord to do something for you, and some blessing to drop out of the sky. If you are diligent and fervent in your obedience to God's commandments for your life, such blessings will indeed fall. But mark these words: such blessings usually fall on the ones that are busy about their work, and not the idle and dependent. God has ordained not only the ends of our lives, but the means that we are to use to get there. Pastor Edwards Feb., 2004 |
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