Don’t Be Lazy

Being productive (Which means that you actually do meaningful things that produce results) is an expectation in the workforce. Bosses don’t hire people to just sit around, listen to Pandora or Spotify, enjoy a beverage, surf the Internet, and basically do absolutely nothing. Bosses hire people because there is a job to do and they need someone to help get it done.

In my over 15 years of management experience, I’ve met some people who think that they can do nothing and keep their job. I’ve had others that produced more good work than any other employee within that particular organization. Those that produced kept their jobs, and were often promoted. Those that continually did very little, were eventually let go.

As part of God’s church, we are expected to lead productive lives. Unfortunately, all too often, members approach church as something that is meant to allow them to just be fed and to occupy space in a pew once per week. While we are called to rest from our normal, business activities on the Sabbath, we are also called to serve others on the Sabbath, just as Jesus did. Additionally, we are called to serve others every other day of the week. We aren’t called to a lazy, passive faith. We are called to live an active faith.

Paul’s words in this verse make it very clear that part of our mission as Christians is to meet the needs of others. Notice, these are needs, not wants. Needs are things that are required to exist: food, water, shelter, clothes, hygiene products, transportation, and so on. In addition to these physical needs, there are also mental and spiritual needs. People need friendship, someone to talk to, someone to confide in, someone who loves them and they love back. They need Jesus. They need His peace and hope in their lives. They need His Holy Spirit leading them through this world.

As Christians, how do we meet these needs if we never observe them? It’s quite simple. Pray that God will open our eyes, and then actually look for them. There are millions of people in this world, in our communities that have these urgent needs. God will reveal them to us. The question we must wrestle with is: Will we be ready and willing to serve them?