When It's All About Serving

I dislike dusting. My mom designated me the resident house duster when I was growing up, and my dislike for the task stretched into adulthood. Couple that dislike with my Type-A personality, and I have a house that often needs to be dusted and feelings of inadequacy when it isn’t. (Did I mention that my 1960s “housewife” mother dusted additional times each week, even when I did my weekly assignment?) 

I admit to wanting things “just right” when people come into my home. Thus, I can get a little annoyed with the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. Jesus showed up for dinner, and Martha busied herself with meal preparation while her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. Martha could have felt a little inadequate when Jesus (and likely a number of his disciples) arrived, and she wanted to get things right. But when Martha complained that Mary wasn’t helping with dinner, Jesus gently chastised her, telling her she was too concerned with lesser things. I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t stop Martha from ultimately serving the meal, but he wanted her heart in the right place as she served.  

Jesus’ message to Martha was that serving others is primarily about connecting with them, and in this case, the connection was with Jesus himself (and his disciples, too)! We can miss opportunities to connect with others if we are too busy looking at the dust on the coffee table or assessing our inadequacies. 

Serving others is about being “faithful stewards of God’s grace” (1 Peter 4:10).

Service can be having a friend over for coffee or picking up the neighbors’ kids when their car breaks down. Service can be bringing a meal to a family in unemployment or helping a child put on their shoes. But to be honest, some days we start serving others and then start complaining, just as Martha did. When it feels as if serving others is more than we can muster, we can rely on God’s strength (I Peter 4:11b). Through our connection to Him, we will have the strength to serve. When we stay connected to Jesus and set our hearts on him, serving others will become a natural outflow ofGod’s grace. 

Our call to serve isn’t only for when things are just right or when things feel good. We need to get past the dust on the shelves, the busyness, the clutter, the lack of motivation, the laundry, the demanding children, or any other thought or thing that affects our heart attitudes. One act of service can be the encouragement someone needs or the assurance of our own adequacy in Christ. And, our service to others makes our connection with Jesus all the sweeter.

Now, where’s that dustcloth? :-) 

Let’s memorize this together:

“If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11b).