The sermon last night at church got me thinking. It was about being a servant and the major thing I got out of it was being a servant that doesn't serve for the recognition but because you are serving the Lord. I remember when we first got into children's ministry. It was so easy to serve and just enjoy serving. It didn't matter that we weren't on stage with a microphone, it didn't matter that the kids didn't know who we were, it didn't matter that none of the other volunteers or parents knew who we were; it just mattered that we were serving in the local church and honoring where we knew God wanted us to be.
After a while that changed. Suddenly everyone knew who we were and it was hard to not want recognition for what we were doing. We were constantly doing everything we could to serve the ministry. Our kids were convinced that we lived at the church. I know for me it stopped being about serving and more about being busy. People started to thank us for doing everything we did for the church and especially the kids, but inside I was tired of it. I was serving because I let myself believe I had to. I was not serving for the right reasons. I was not doing it for God. I kept going because of the recognition we were getting. It was hard to think that I would be letting people down. Please don't take this the wrong way. I love the local church. I love children's ministry. I cannot imagine my life without any of those kids, but at that point in my life I let my ego take over. I had to allow myself time to rest and remember that I was there for God, not myself. I still have to do that sometimes. I have to step back and remind myself that it is not about me. I figured out that hard way too.
Anyway, the sermon last night got me thinking about all that. I want to be the type of servant that only has the motivation of working for God. I don't want to be concerned with getting pats on the back from other people. I also figured out that part of being that kind of servant involves what the Lord has given me to do at home too. Right now I have been blessed with the ability to stay home and take care of my kids. I get to see all of their firsts. I need to learn to be the kind of mom that God would want me to be.
I am a servant to the most high God and some day I will receive a reward that lasts a lot longer than a pat on the back. How cool is that?
After a while that changed. Suddenly everyone knew who we were and it was hard to not want recognition for what we were doing. We were constantly doing everything we could to serve the ministry. Our kids were convinced that we lived at the church. I know for me it stopped being about serving and more about being busy. People started to thank us for doing everything we did for the church and especially the kids, but inside I was tired of it. I was serving because I let myself believe I had to. I was not serving for the right reasons. I was not doing it for God. I kept going because of the recognition we were getting. It was hard to think that I would be letting people down. Please don't take this the wrong way. I love the local church. I love children's ministry. I cannot imagine my life without any of those kids, but at that point in my life I let my ego take over. I had to allow myself time to rest and remember that I was there for God, not myself. I still have to do that sometimes. I have to step back and remind myself that it is not about me. I figured out that hard way too.
Anyway, the sermon last night got me thinking about all that. I want to be the type of servant that only has the motivation of working for God. I don't want to be concerned with getting pats on the back from other people. I also figured out that part of being that kind of servant involves what the Lord has given me to do at home too. Right now I have been blessed with the ability to stay home and take care of my kids. I get to see all of their firsts. I need to learn to be the kind of mom that God would want me to be.
I am a servant to the most high God and some day I will receive a reward that lasts a lot longer than a pat on the back. How cool is that?
I love you Alesha and this was a great post.
ReplyDelete