Working for God, working for the Church

[A.W. Bowman]

Originally Posted by Sister Alvear

that is one of the reasons I do not believe Jesus has a Jew and Gentile church.

It is one faith, one God, etc. and body of Christ. This scripture teaching also puts to death the acceptable idea of multiple denominations. The danger is in any movement to gather the body of Christ into one body, unified in the faith, is to fall pray to the counterfeit one-world church. The watchword is discernment.

[A.W. Bowman]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

Just taught about this Sunday evening.

Our priorities should be as follows.

1. Our relationship with God.
2. Our relationship with our family.
3. Our relationship to the local assembly.

When number two or three become number one, chaos ensues.

When number three becomes more inportant than number two, chaos ensues.

All things in their proper place.

You teach well. Blessings.

[A.W. Bowman]

Originally Posted by Carpenter

See? Toldja it would be interesting. I could sit and talk for hours about that, but only with two other people and myself never more than 3.

Start a thread and perhaps a few of us can join in with you.

[MissBrattified]

I think people can get carried away with "church work" just like with any other kind of charity work. It is easy to immerse yourself in something you are passionated about. And, passion is a good thing. However, men and women with families to provide for have to be careful to prioritize.

Paul mentioned something to that effect when he said that virgin could focus on the Lord, but a married woman must pay attention to her husband. (Big paraphrase there...lol, sorry)

I do not believe that work which benefits the church as a whole is working "for the flesh", BUT I do believe, as my Daddy used to say, "A person can be so heavenly minded, they're no earthly good." (Not sure if that was original)

It's just a matter of priority. There's definitely overlap...that is, working for God will probably always benefit the church, and working for the church will probably benefit God's kingdom, e.g., God. Plus, there's the little verse about doing everything as unto the Lord. And, whatever you do for the "least of these", you've done it unto Him.

I think where folks get confused is when they confuse church work as work for some governmental entity or politico, when in reality, working for the church is working for people, it's serving others, working for your brethren. Obviously that is important work, whether it's taking middle school kids out for a game of softball or teaching a class of young married couples or cleaning the bathrooms on Saturday night so they'll smell good on Sunday AM.

The work of the church is about people. Obviously it's very important.

On a personal level, though, God comes first, and your family (spouse, children) should come before others. It's an obligation. If you're single, it's a different story.

I do think that serving God includes serving people in some way by default, so you will end up serving the church if you are serving God. But even a minister must first be able to rule his own household well in order to qualify for leadership. And that doesn't mean just bark an order to hear everyone say, "Yes sir."



Prioritize, people, prioritize.

[MissBrattified]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

Just taught about this Sunday evening.

Our priorities should be as follows.

1. Our relationship with God.
2. Our relationship with our family.
3. Our relationship to the local assembly.

When number two or three become number one, chaos ensues.

When number three becomes more inportant than number two, chaos ensues.

All things in their proper place.

Exactly!

[MissBrattified]

Originally Posted by Rosh Yeshiva

I believe we are on the same path but using different terms learned one.

Personally, I would use the word "motive" above, as opposed to "priority."

The answer to original question is quite simply introspection.

Why do I do what I do?

Are my actions, my "works" to use the original question, for the purpose of building a household, or the relationships within that house (especially with the Master of the house)?

Good [self-correcting] questions!

[MissBrattified]

Originally Posted by Carpenter

Is there a difference? What is that difference? Does your spirituality take a hit when you have to raise the white flag and say enough, I can't handle any more?

No, I don't think your spirituality takes a hit. When life gets overwhelming, it is vitally important to simplify. For me, that means reducing everything down to God, husband and kids. Not just work on an hour-to-hour basis, but distractions as well.

My spirituality takes a hit when I stretch myself too thin and pay less attention to my highest priorities. Plus, it just makes me grumpy and unpleasant.

How can you tell whether you are working for the flesh (buildings, personalities, personal recognition) or for the Lord?

Hmmm. I don't know. I really like to be told that I'm doing a good job, but I don't think I work FOR that reason. I can rule out personal recognition, because that's one I really couldn't care less about. Personalities...not sure about that one. (what you mean) So probably working for approval would be my weakness. Bottom line, I have to remind myself that if my relationship with God is suffering, than someone else's approval doesn't matter in the long run--nor does their disapproval if I have to set something aside. In fact, I would be more apt to keep working in order to avoid disapproval than to gain approval. Does that make sense?

This is a two-sided coin, for sure, because married men/women with or without children have obligations that are vastly different than their single counterparts, and must approach any kind of church work carefully and sparingly. JMO