So there is something that I became aware of just recently among people who serve in the church. In fact, this thing that I have noticed is something that I was at fault of (very often infact) just a few years ago. Now FULL DISCLOSURE!!! I am not calling anyone out or pointing my figures at anyone. Like I just said, I was at fault of this a few years ago and so now I am aware of it.

But what I noticed is that people that serve in the church, in one way or another, seem to feel (whether they realize it or not) that because they are volunteers or because they aren’t getting paid or because it isn’t their job, that they don’t have to give 100% to the ministry that they are in. Don’t get me wrong. I understand, I really do. We all have very busy lives. But it is time to change the way we think. Because God has called us to much more than that. Like it says in Colossians 3:23-24

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Anything that we give to the Lord should be done with sacrifice. Wait, did he just say… sacrifice? You know it! But trust me, that word isn’t as scary as it seems. Sacrifice is defined in a few ways. First there is the one that everyone knows. Which is the offering of animal, plant, or human life or of some material possession to a deity, as in propitiation or homage. And then there is the one that I’m talking about and that is this; sacrifice is the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim. Like King David said in 2 Samuel 24:24.

“But King David replied to Araunah, “I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

In other words; when we are serving the Lord in worship or in children’s ministry or as janitors we need to give our all, for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim. Because I will not give a sacrifice of praise to the Lord if it doesn’t cost me nothing.

Keep worshiping!