Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.
Titus 3:14 (NLT)
I had a job, for one day, at Pacific Union College. It was registration day at the start of the new quarter. This was before online registration was a thing. So, based on your class standing (senior, junior, etc.) you would go down to the gym and register for your classes. Each person was given a specific time, down to the minute, when they could enter the gym and complete registration. My job was: 1) Make sure no one came in before their specified time, and 2) call out the time, minute by minute, for the entire day so students knew when they could go in. It was that last part that got old. Every minute was accounted for and announced. It was a long, mind-numbing day.
Though I did my job for approximately 1,500 people that day, I didn’t feel very fulfilled. People kept trying to sneak in early. People complained that I didn’t call out their time and they were now late getting in. (They were, of course, mistaken. Every minute was accounted for.) No one seemed very thankful; that is, until the administrative staff and many of the professors thanked me for helping keep things manageable for them. I turns out, I wasn’t serving the students. I was serving the faculty. My perspective was wrong.
Often times we choose not to serve others because we have the wrong perspective. We believe we won’t make a difference. Or, perhaps, our service has been met with complaints. Perhaps we don’t want people to feel entitled to help, so we don’t offer it. Whatever the case, it is often easier not to serve.
However, the Apostle Paul says, “Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.” In other words, each of us are called to have a productive faith which is measured by whether or not we actually serve others. Regardless of how we think it might go, or how big the job is, it is important for us to serve. We never know how big of a difference we will make. Perhaps God will change our perspective. Because, ultimately, you aren’t serving the people, you are serving God. You are His servant helping His kingdom.
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