By nature the flesh isn't
interested in serving; by nature the flesh is only interested in self. If we are to deal ethically with one another
we must walk in the Spirit.
The reason we hurt others with our
words and actions, and the reason we bite and devour one another is because we
walk in the flesh and not the Spirit.
One thing that I have discovered
in my years of pastoring is that all the church has a willing spirit. A few are willing to work and serve others
and the rest are willing to let them. To
put it mildly, most believers are not Christian when it comes to them "serving
others."
Reminds me of the old saying, "There once was a job anybody could do, but nobody did. Now when everybody found out that nobody had done the job anybody could do, everybody got upset at somebody. Now the moral of the story is this: if somebody would have done the job that anybody could have done, nobody would be upset with anybody."
Self-righteous service comes
through human effort.
True service comes from a
relationship with God.
Self-righteous service is
impressed with the "big deal."
True service finds it almost
impossible to distinguish the small from the large service.
Self-righteous service requires
external rewards.
True service rests contented on
hiddenness.
Self-righteous service is highly
concerned about results.
True service is free of the need
to calculate results.
Self-righteous service picks and
chooses whom to serve.
True service is indiscriminate in
its ministry.
Self-righteous service is affected
by moods and whims.
True service ministers simply and
faithfully because there is a need.
Self-righteous service is
temporary.
True service is a life-style.
Self-righteous service is without
sensitivity. It insists on meeting the
need even when to do so would be destructive.
True service can withhold the
service as freely as perform it.
Self-righteous service fractures
the church.
True service, on the other hand, builds the church.
So let me encourage you to be Christian in your service for others.
✞ Remember, religion usually has self in mind, while Christianity has others in mind.
Are you Saved? | Get These Devotions By Email
