Serving: Don’t Lead By Example!

“I thought I should be an example to the tribe,” explained the former missionary as he described his role in the village’s building project. The tribesmen, weighing fully one-third less than him, each carried two 80-pound bags of cement from the river to the building site without falling or dropping any part of the load. In response, the missionary carried three bags at a time. He mistakenly felt that to lead and serve effectively, he needed to outperform those in his sphere of influence in order to gain their respect.

What’s Your Motive As You Serve?

Image: The World Race

This well-intentioned servant felt pressure to not only perform up to a certain standard, but exceed it. Yet who set that standard? The tribesmen did not require it of him. Neither did God.

Nor were the tribesmen impressed. None of them made an effort to mirror the missionary’s behavior and carry three bags instead of two. His sweat and strained back did not spark an interest in spiritual things, but in fact were viewed as one-upmanship.

Whether rooted in personal pride (“I will show them what it means to be a Christian”) or expectations from other believers (“my congregation expects me to …”), the Christ-follower’s “being-an-example” motive cultivates an image of activity. But does that activity stem from our heart-relationship with Christ? If we’re honest, most of the time the answer is no.

The Great Deception in Serving

Christ-followers easily fall prey to the assumption that others look up to us when we “perform.” Yet in setting ourselves up as a model to follow, the subliminal message is a subtle works-based faith that says knowing Christ is all about tasks. “Religion” takes the upper hand over having a relationship with Jesus.

The truth is quite the opposite. God does not need us to “sell” Him by “performing” in His name. Others are impacted the most not when they see Christ-followers “performing,” but when they see Christ-followers living in an authentic relationship with Him.

The great deception in serving is performance. Check your motives. Do you carry bags of cement as part of your religion … or in response to your relationship with Christ?