Serving, Not Complaining

I want to speak briefly about serving in the church and the attitude you bring to the table when you serve, regardless of capacity. But first, let's define what serving is.

For purposes of this article, serving is filling a need the church has, whether it's folding worship folders each week, taking the offering, greeting people, teaching Sunday School, taking care of the babies in the nursery or even something such as clearing the parking lot of snow and ice after a big winter storm. It's literally anything that is needed to be done to help things run smoothly, whether there is direct people impact or not.

Some of us serve according to gifts we know God has given and we feel we can do well in those areas. Some of us only want to serve if it can be in a specific area or not at all. That's alright, too. It really is, though I'd caution you to not be afraid to stretch yourself and go outside your comfort zone. However you choose to serve, if you do, do it cheerfully and without complaining.

Why is this important? Let me toss out this thought. How many people serve because they feel obligated to do it? They serve because nobody else will fill the need and someone has to do it so why not them? This is fine, and if this is you, thank you, but remember why you're doing it. Even if this is your "reason" for serving, you know deep down that it isn't. If you felt and recognized the need, and it bugged you enough to do something about it, consider that God put that thought there because He needed you. And if He put you there (and regardless, He most definitely did) then shouldn't you be thankful He cared so much to use YOU to serve Him?

Maybe you serve but only in the description of the word. Perhaps your reason for doing it is to have some sort of control in the church. I'll jump on that topic more in depth in another article, but let's say this is indeed your reason, consciously or not. If this is the case, you're doing it for yourself, which means you are actually self-serving, which actually helps nobody. If you feel this way, let it go and let someone else fill the need. Or, if you feel strongly enough about it, like perhaps nobody can do it as well as you can, that's fine, but spend some time humbly in prayer about how to make it a positive experience for everyone and an attitude-changing opportunity for yourself.

An odd thing to say, right? But how many people do you know who spend all their time moaning and complaining while doing something? Why do you think they do this? They do it to draw attention to themselves, to engage you in a conversation about them, which makes them feel important, which makes them feel, well, loved, oddly enough.

This is the lesson on the back end for the rest of us, those of us who are frustrated at an apparent bad attitude by some who serve but do so seemingly out of obligation or wrong motives. When you hear this from those people and when you see this occurring, I'd encourage you to dig deep, look beyond your own attitude and frustration, and think about why it is they are acting this way. Chances are they are looking for love and acceptance, even if they don't know they are doing it or that they need it. They may very well need an ear to hear, a shoulder to lean on.

Everyone has a call to ministry in some form or another. For most people, it doesn't involve anything full-time, so don't feel guilty if you haven't received that call. But don't ignore the call to serve, either. Serving is a key part of ministry. God will utilize your talents, or help you stretch abilities you didn't even know you had, to meet His purpose. And when you feel your attitude is getting in the way, or you allow yourself to complain, even internally, about what it is you're doing, remember God chose you to do that work for Him. Think about how personal that choice really is, about how He cares enough to select you to serve, regardless of what it may be.

Whatever the needs may be in the church, they are all important. When you fill a need, when you serve, recognize the opportunity is a worship experience, a chance to praise God for using you to meet the needs of His people. You are vitally important! Be happy about it!