JOYLESS SERVICE

By Andrea Guachalla

What we believe shapes what we do.

Some Christians in the church of Thessalonica believed the end was near, therefore they became idle and refused to work (2 Thess 3:11), and by that they became a burden for others. Paul believed his own righteousness could restore his relationship with God without the need of Christ, therefore he persecuted the Christians who claimed otherwise. Job, in the face of the tragedies that came to his life, believed that his good works deserved him rewards from God, therefore he complained and dared call God unrighteous. We believe we deserve God’s favor, love, and service, therefore we live seeking to be served and not to serve. 

What we believe shapes what we do. Our flawed understanding of God’s character shapes the way we invest our time, resources, and talents. Our lack of understanding of Christ’s love and service shapes the flawed way we serve others or the way we don’t. And due to this flawed understanding, how many of us serve others joylessly? How many times do we serve others out of obligation but not out of love?

Service.

The very Son of God came to earth to serve us in all humility, and with perfect love. He came to serve us wholeheartedly and with all joy, driven by love for God the Father and for those who didn’t deserve to be loved by Him. In Christ, we see perfect, sacrificial, loving service on behalf of sinners who are so hard to serve, for these very sinners are the ones who would, later on, crucify Him. And yet His love was not dependent on His circumstances, or the people. His love was only dependent on His divine nature and His relationship with the Father.

That is true service, and that is true love. In contrast, let’s reflect on how true and pure are motives for which we serve and love others.

When we serve others, all they can do is see what we do and hear what we say. Even if we are serving them without a whit of joy, they wouldn’t know, they wouldn’t realize that our actions are not at all in line with how 1 Corinthians 13 portrays God’s love. In contrast, our Creator does not only see what we do, and listen to what we say, but He also knows our attitudes, desires, and our most secret thoughts (Psalms 139:1-4). While we could hide from our family, friends, or colleagues the true attitude we have while serving, we cannot hide it from the almighty, all-knowing God, and we are lying to ourselves if we refuse to realize that and what it implies.

One of the implications is that when we serve others joylessly, the way we understand the Gospel and our ungrateful hearts are on complete display. If we would be aware of how undeserving we were of God’s grace and the work of Christ, we would be unspeakably grateful, and if our hearts would be overflowed with thankfulness, we would seek to serve God above all with all willingness and humility, and we would serve others likewise. 

The second implication is that when we serve joylessly, we are not serving God or our neighbor, but rather ourselves. Whether we are forcing ourselves to serve to feel better with ourselves, or to look better in the eyes of others, just the fact that the right motivation, and thankfulness are lacking from our actions, it reveals that before love-oriented and humble, we are proud and self-righteous.

Inferred from these two implications we can say that when we serve joylessly we are not serving at all. A heart that fails to recognize the grace of God and His lordship over our time, gifts, and resources, is a heart that fails to be thankful for Christ, and a heart that cannot have the right motivation to serve others selflessly and lovingly. And if actions, even if they are good in the eyes of man, are not moved by our genuine love for God and our neighbor, it is not lawful in the eyes of God.

At this point, you might be tempted to think “What’s the point of even trying to serve then? We’ll always have flawed motives.” And it is true that while on this earth we will always struggle with our motives and sinful nature (Romans 7:19). However, by the grace of God, we were turned from being slaves of sin to new creatures enabled to serve God, and our neighbor. By His grace we are free to go to Him in prayer and ask Him to sanctify us, use us in our weakness, and give us the strength to “not grow weary of doing good” (2 Thess. 3:13), we can thank Him because realizing how often we serve joylessly we also realize how much we still need to grow in the understanding of our precious Lord Jesus Christ and be shaped in His likeness.

What we believe shapes what we do. 

So, let’s “believe” well, and come to God’s Word in the search of wisdom, and knowledge. Let’s come to the Father in prayer and ask Him to enable us to understand His Word more fully. Let’s rely on the Holy Spirit to show us our flawed motives and give us the strength to change our attitude. Ultimately, let’s believe in Christ our Holy Savior, all that He is, and all that He has done. That will not make us instantly perfect, but it will shape us more to His likeness, and it will enable us to love sacrificially, and serve God and others with all joy.

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References:

• J. C. Ryle (1878). Practical Religion. Unabridged Edition.
• Shona Murray (2020). Living with a sacrificial heart. Tabletalk, Ligonier. Vol. 44, No. 6.
• Stefen Müller (2020). How gratefulness shapes our service. Tabletalk, Ligonier. Vol. 43, No. 11.
• Dan Thompson (2020). Examining our Motives. Tabletalk, Ligonier. Vol. 44, No. 1.
• Tabletalk (2020). Never Give Up. Tabletalk, Ligonier. Vol. 44, No. 1.