For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is
to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. (I Thess. 2:4)

I recently read a blog about two kings, the first had inherited the throne from his father, and ruled
with the needs of the people in mind. He cut unnecessary budget items such as paintings of himself
displayed in public and spent the money on projects such as bridge repair so that disasters could be
avoided without increasing taxes. The people of the kingdom really didn’t know much of the work
done behind the scenes to keep taxes lower or the borders safe, so they considered him only a good
king.

The second king became king because the first died with no offspring. This king took advantage
of his position and really lived it up, paid less attention to the security of the border and let the
infrastructure go. However when a bridge collapsed or enemies invaded, he became very vocal
and public with his speech making and promises. Even though many people died in bridge
collapses and wars defending the border he was considered a hero and a great king by the people.

I thought about our motivation for service and leadership, is it so that people will call us great, giving
us accolades and recognition, or is to serve others and their best interests. Do we give attention to
the important details in private in order to avoid public disasters or are we the kind of person who
loves to come to the rescue in an opportune situation. Jesus calls us to be servants not heroes. To
Him greatness is found in what we do from our hearts in helping others not ourselves. Let us check
our motivation in all we do; is it truly to give God glory or to get some for ourselves?

I realize as a student of leadership that there is a great need for leaders who can lead organizations,
including the church, through change. Many of the books in my library hail the heroes of church
change and leadership. The leaders who have faithfully kept their organizations from getting to
the place where they need a hero often don’t make it to the pages of these books. These leaders
are not often recognized for their achievement, they are not flashy or provocative, they are simply
servant leaders who managed to keep themselves and their organizations healthy, safe, and out of
the news. These are what Jesus called the faithful and wise stewards, who may never get a reward
from man, but God will in due time recognize them and say “well done.”

Are we giving more attention to building our resume or the Kingdom of God?

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

When I go to my family doctor for my yearly check-up he tells me I need to eat right AND exercise. I have the eating right thing down pretty well--I do sneak the occasional cookie or piece of cake or pie, or a candy bar, or donut, muffin, or other breakfast pastry (nobody's perfect, right?).

It's the exercise part with which I have the most trouble. Apparently I take in more calories on a daily basis than I burn. As a result over the past several years I have gained a few more pounds than I should have. Health gurus would say I have an unbalanced physical life.

The same can be said for the spiritual life of most Christians--it is unbalanced. There are three aspects that make up the spiritual life: the first is worship, the second is ministry, and the third is discipleship. In the Rick Warren lingo it would go something like this: majesty, ministry, and maturity. I'm fine with that.

Whatever labels you apply, the principle is the same: the spiritual life needs to worship God--that is first and foremost, then the spiritual life needs to serve others in some capacity and to be served by others.

Most Christians live an unbalanced spiritual life. They are either serving in too many ministries--in physical life parlance they burn far more calories than they consume which if taken to an extreme could lead to anorexia; or they are sitting in too many Bible studies but never actually serving anywhere--in physical life they consume far more calories than they burn, which if taken to an extreme could lead to obesity.

In the church we often call people "Martha" who are busy doing ministry and never take time to be fed spiritually, or worse yet who never take time to worship God. Martha and her sister Mary were disciples of Jesus. Martha was the worker-bee type, and Mary just wanted to spend time with Jesus. Martha was so busy serving others and Jesus that she never took time to actually worship Him. And, she complained to Jesus that her sister Mary was spending too much time with Him. Luke chapter 10 records: "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' To which Jesus replied, "Martha, Martha . . . you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The opposite of Martha are those who, in modern vernacular, we call couch potatoes--they are content to sit around watching television all day but never do anything. In the church, people who are involved in very little if any service could be called pew potatoes. They are content to watch the very few workers do most of the work. They are like the third employee in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:15-30) who instead of investing his talent, buried it in the backyard. When the master came back the the employee had nothing to show for what was given to him. The master was angry at the do-nothing employee, took the one talent he had, and tossed the employee out. God has gifted every follower of Christ and expects us to be doing something for the kingdom of God. We cannot afford to squander what He has given by being pew potatoes.

So, which side do you fall on--Martha or pew potato? Or, are you one of the few who has a balanced spiritual life: worshiping God, serving others and being discipled? This week consider where you are and make adjustments as necessary. It may involve you stepping out of areas of service so you can make time to be fed or worship God; it may involve you getting out of the pew and stepping up to serve others