Work willingly at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord
rather than for people.
Remember...the Master you are serving is Christ.
Colossians 3:23-24
When I think about the word “devotion,” many thoughts come to my mind. I think about service, dedication, faith, loyalty and so much more. As Christians, we are commanded to live a life of devotion to Christ, which can manifest itself in many different ways. One of the aspects of devotion that resonates most with me is service. It is an honor and privilege to serve our God and our congregation each weekend, along with so many others who have given of their time and talents to do so. Facilitating a time of congregational worship for three weekend services requires much work and time. We are so fortunate to have a team of people who support this service each week, also giving of their time and talents in unique ways. There is no question in my mind that this group of leaders and team members live a life of devotion to Christ, manifested in serving others.
I have been making a very intentional effort to take time, step back and evaluate the devotion of my own heart amidst the week-to-week gatherings. There have been a few times where these evaluations revealed some areas in my own life that needed attention. I found that it was very easy for my devotion to shift from being on God, to being more focused on the service that I was doing for God. At first I had a very hard time swallowing this pill, not fully grasping the difference between the two things. Since most of my life is consumed with worship ministry, most of my focus and attention ends up being directed toward that. And while my efforts in this area are done with the best of intentions, I've noticed my tendency to become more and more task-oriented in times of higher stress and demand in my area of ministry. I can become so focused on getting schedules posted, arranging instruments, or setting a stage, that my devotion becomes more on the ways in which I am serving, and less on the true Master whom I serve.
Through this process, there are a few things that God has shown me:
- Being devoted to serving is not a bad thing. At all. I want to be very careful in how I express this topic, because I would never want to devalue the importance of being well organized and devoted to a ministry or a position of serving. Jesus calls us to serve in many different ways, and to do so with excellence. But where I can personally get out of balance is when I have allowed my motivation to be completing a task rather than pleasing the heart of Jesus.
- Self evaluation is good. The times where I have been able to take a step back and look at everything through a wider lens have been very life-giving. I also recognize that there are times where I will have blindsides and will be unable to see some of the areas in my life where I need to make adjustments. This is where having a few people in my life who love me and who love Jesus is an extremely important safeguard. While it can be difficult to heart difficult truths about myself, it helps me to keep a well-rounded view of my strengths and weaknesses in different situations.
- God’s grace is continual. The incredible thing about the God that we serve is that we are able to make adjustments and course changes as we go. There is no rule that states that we must continue on the path that we are on once we choose it. God is a God who walks beside us, helping guide us as we venture on the path that he has laid out for us.
- Worship helps refocus our heart and devotion. As I take time to personally worship Christ, it brings my heart and my devotion back into alignment with Him. Worship is something that unifies our heart with God’s heart, allowing for him to do transforming work in our hearts.
As those who serve the Lord in any varying area of ministry, I want to encourage you, to encourage all of us, to guard our steps and guard our hearts against serving a ministry as our master. To frequently take times to evaluate our hearts and to remember that the Master we are serving is Christ, first and foremost!
Ryan
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