Ministry

(This was meant to be posted last night, but my laptop crashed again while I was finishing up the post..)

Thought of the day (random..or not?):

Ministry is a Privilege, not a right.


Sometimes, I myself may feel exasperated by the demands of ministry. It requires you to give a lot of your time, and effort, sometimes not being recognised. Sometimes, you feel like the ministry became so "dependent" on you -- your phone doesn't stop ringing with people finding you for matters, smses about "can you help do this? can you serve for [insert reason here]", and then you start getting a teensy bit annoyed.

Then its vital to do a rain check, and make sure you don't start getting proud. The ministry doesn't revolve around one person, it is always about serving GOD.

If people keep looking for you, you should feel honoured, the same type of honour as if your house had been chosen for the King to stay in.

At the same time, if you still go ahead and receive the King while you keep complaining in your heart "why so troublesome, have to renovate the house, have to hire people to help do this do that, must prepare the best food etc for these few days.."

Then don't do it lah!!!!! If it makes you so unhappy, why still agree to do it? If you turn it down, there WILL be someone else that the ministry can find to take over your turned down job. As humans, we have this really baseless reasoning that "If I don't do it, no one will, so poor old me must be FORCED to do it..for the sake of the ministryyyyyy". Wah lau eh, mai drama can?

There IS a difference between:

a)willingness + ability to do it
b)willingness - ability to do it
c)ability - willingness
d)- ability - willingness

Anyway. The point is, ministry = privilege, also doesn't mean asking you to illogically or ridiculously put in so much time and effort that you neglect your own life (personal, family, fun, spiritual) for the "sake of serving" (category B or C as per above illustration). Like what is often said, "God asked you to give Him your heart, not your brain. So keep your brain and use it!" Use your brain, use your brain!

And for those people who think that ministry is dependent on them so much, nobody is indispensable.

Remember, Ability can be trained, so B can become A. Willingness is up to you, and that is the only thing that stops C from overtaking B and jumping straight to A.

I am not and have never claimed to be the 'perfect example' of a ministry worker. I do sometimes get low, feel unappreciated, or feel tempted to be "elitist" just because you have been long enough in the ministry.

PA's words, I will always remember. "If God asked you to be a toilet cleaner in church for the rest of your life, will you do it?"

The privilege to serve God in the capacity that He wants you to, not what others want you to do, or even your own "self justification" of what you "should" be doing.