Obligation or Obedience?

A friend, who I highly respect as a man of God, once said that oftentimes God gives us a vision and we add so much of our own ideas and plans to it that it no longer looks anything like what God intended for us. He was honest in saying that he and his wife did this to some extent and then God called them to change directions.

Does God give us ideas? Yes. Are they creative? Yes. But not all of our creative ideas are from God nor should all of them be put into action using the name of ministry as an excuse. Ask yourself, does this glorify God? Is this just an excuse for me to look “busy” in my ministry? Does it make a difference in the lives of others? Am I just entertaining others for my own benefit and glory?

These are important questions to ask in any ministry. Whether you’re the pastor of a church where hundreds of people attend each week, with professional-sounding worship, 20 different study groups to choose from, ‘round-the-clock childcare. But the people are hungry for spiritual meat, they’re not growing, they’re not reaching out to the community or even each other.

Or if you’re a youth minister who buys into every gimmick there is for bringing new youth to your events. The only measure you use to know if the event was a success is, “did they have a good time?” You place your focus on entertainment and fun so you can avoid the work it takes to develop relationships and disciple young men and women.

I think some of these situations occur because so many people take positions they not called by God to take. They fill the position because there’s a need, not because they have a calling, vision, or desire for that particular area. And in some cases, God called them to that ministry long ago and since then has called them to move on to something new. Because they have become so comfortable and secure in their current position of ministry, they refuse to move on to where God is calling them. Both of these will eventually lead to a sense of bitterness toward that ministry because you feel obligated not obedient. God desires obedient over sacrifice. You may sacrifice your whole life for a ministry position you were asked by man to fill but if it was not God who called you to it, He does not care how much you have sacrificed.

If you want those under your authority and leadership to walk in the roles in which God has assigned them to, ask them what it is that God has given them a desire for. Ask them what God has given them a vision for. Find out what gifts they possess. Encourage them in developing those gifts and using them to glorify God. Filling positions out of necessity, starting ministries out of obligation, that’s not the way God intends for the Church to do it. He may have shown you the need but if He didn’t give you the heart for it, the end results will not be success in His eyes. If you see a need but you don’t feel it is your job to meet it, pray for God to show you what you can do, pray for Him to send the person who does have a heart for it.

Sometimes we stay in a position or place and do for others what they can do for themselves, not with a servants heart but with a controlling spirit. God doesn’t call us to run the whole race by ourselves but to take what He has taught us, teach it to others, and pass on the baton. When you continue to treat others as though they need your help, what you’re really doing is refusing them a chance to grow and mature in their walk.