It’s Better to Answer This Question Sooner Rather Than Later
Too often the driving force behind our actions is selfish and inward focused. Even when we’re doing good work that helps others, we turn that around to being about us.
In Luke 10:1-20, Jesus sent people out to share His message. When they came back, they were excited about what they had accomplished. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed when we spoke in your name!”
Jesus told them, “Don’t be happy because evil spirits obey you. Be happy that your names are written in heaven!
We need to think about why we do what we do.
We shouldn’t do good things for the wrong reason.
Satan started out as an angel but lost his direction and fell from God’s grace. He could have done great things but instead….it became all about him.
Some missionaries were in a country where one day they found a big snake in their house. They went and got one of the local’s, who came and cut the snake’s head off with a machete.
He went back outside and told them to wait before they went back inside, because the snake’s body is still squirming and they could be hurt.
As he was thinking about this, one of the missionaries realized that this is like Satan. Even though God has already cut his head off, he is still causing damage to anyone who gets too close.
Be sure to keep your distance.
A few months prior to his death Martin Luther King Jr. preached “The Drum Major Instinct”. He told his congregation what he would like said at his funeral: “I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.”
King’s sermon was an adaptation of the 1952 homily “Drum-Major Instincts” by J. Wallace Hamilton. Both men tell the biblical story of James and John, who ask Jesus for the most prominent seats in heaven. At the core of their desire was a “drum major instinct—a desire to be out front, a desire to lead the parade”.
King warned his congregation that this desire for importance can lead to people feeling superior. Conversely, King preached that when Jesus responded to the request by James and John, he did not rebuke them for their ambition, but taught that greatness comes from humble servitude.
As King put it, Jesus “reordered priorities.”
King concluded the sermon by imagining his own funeral. Urging the congregation not to dwell on his life’s achievements. He asked to be remembered as one who “tried to give his life serving others”. He implored his congregation to remember his attempts to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort prisoners. “Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter”
It’s important that we do good for the right reason.
Imagine yourself at a circus watching all the amazing trapeze artists and high wire acts. After the tight rope walker goes across the high wire the ring master asks the crowd if they would like to see him ride a bicycle across. Everyone applauds and says yes. Next the ring master asks if they would like to see him go across with someone riding on his shoulders. The applause and screams are louder than before. Then the ringmaster asks…who will volunteer to be that person? The crowd instantly is quiet. Oh, ye of little faith.
We only need to believe a mustard seed amount for miracles to happen. It’s sad how many people don’t even have this much faith. God will never expect us to do more than we can. The problem is that we don’t believe. There are examples of amazing things all around us if we will just look. The more we believe in God and ourselves the bigger the miracles will be.
We are made in God’s image but live in a fallen world. It is hard to see through the haze of the fallen world to the miracles that happen. In the story of the mulberry tree above, it says, if you have faith, it will obey you…it doesn’t say anything about seeing it.
Prioritize your to do list – This is probably the hardest thing for someone with a servant’s heart. Everything on the list is given ultimate importance and this is where the problem starts. There simply isn’t enough time to do everything. So how do we prioritize the list. Michael refers to the 
Delegate – Sharing the shovels needed to move any mountain is a good plan as long as you have someone to share them with. Delegating is a part of the productivity plan in the Eisenhower Matrix. There are a lot of unconventional ways that delegating can be done. Thinking outside the box is a great plan, you just can’t stop at the thinking, there has to be some doing. Michael shares ideas for this in his podcast as well.
Say NO – This is probably the hardest thing to do with a servant’s heart. We want to help everybody. The problem is there simply isn’t enough time to help everybody. Saying no is the only way we can do our best work, it’s the only way to serve well. The Lysa TerKeurst book, “
The last several years I have been working hard to figure out who exactly God has designed me to be. What are my strengths and what are my weaknesses. As I have worked through this process I have reached the conclusion that God’s intended purpose for me is helping as many people as possible find solutions for building their dreams, even when they may not know they’re looking for them.