I remember doing lunch duty in the cafeteria of a public high school. I would walk around and tell people to pick up the trash on the table. More often than not I would get the response that it was not “my” trash, and besides that is what the janitors are for. Some would even say that by not picking up their trash they were keeping the janitor employed. Wow, how thoughtful of them! I have been in many places, including the church, where this mentality plays out in a daily fashion. Something needs to be done, but most people say, that’s not my job and so the task does not get completed or the select few do it all. Thus it seems that the phrase, “80% of the work is done by 20% of the people,” follows its typical sequence. Not my job is simply any excuse so that one does not have to do anything! So the question comes up: are we here to serve God or are we here for ourselves?
Unfortunately it can play a major role in the church. Year after year I would explain to the confirmation parents that came through that this was a covenantal relationship; that we are to work together in the spiritual life of the student. Year after year parents would drop their child off for class only to drive back home, not going to church at all. Many parents have the attitude that the church is responsible for the spiritual nature of their child and school is responsible for their education. Thus they don’t have to do much because that’s not their job. No matter how much a person goes to church, if it is not lived out on a daily basis then nothing is sticking. A confirmation student can come to class and learn the material, but when they go home and see how the parent does not live it out, then what’s the point? Thus many leave the church after they “graduate” confirmation or when they graduate high school.
In Galatians 6:2 Paul tells us to “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Wait a minute, I have too many problems of my own to deal with, let alone bear the burdens of someone else! Paul also tells us in Galatians 6:1 that if someone is caught in sin we are to restore them gently, watching out to not get caught up in sin as well. Wait a minute: I’m supposed to tell someone that they are sinning and to stop it? Isn’t that judging? Aren’t I supposed to give the Gospel? We are to give the law and to give the Gospel. Yet many churches choose to do one over the other. Some churches give mostly Gospel, letting people continue in their sin. The American church today seemingly does not want to be offensive and thus let’s things go, compromising with the world as the church in Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17. Other churches ridicule and beat down “sinners” as the Pharisees did before, without acknowledging their own sin. We need the correct balance of Law and Gospel and know when to use each one.
Cleaning up trash is not fun. Being a parent is difficult. To be a gardener for God’s Kingdom is difficult. Yet we all have a job to do and unique gifts to do it. God’s purpose for our lives is our job and we are to do it daily to His Glory and not our own!
Amen!