“Serving God on Monday Morning”

Tuesday, May 01, 2018

Sunday

I have yet to meet a Christian who, at the end of a full Sunday, looks back and says, “That was a total waste of time!” Even if it means we have spent an entire day focused on worship, Bible study, maybe even a potluck, and are completely exhausted by the end of it all, we still usually feel that it was a great way to spend our day.

Serving God on Sunday is easy. At least, it is easier. We are surrounded by people who encourage us. Our minds are focused on God. We are all gathered together in a common safe place. And, the whole day has been set aside for this sole purpose. We don’t have to worry about people challenging our beliefs or attacking us. We typically don’t even have to worry about worldly influences distracting us.

Monday

So what happens 12 hours later when we wake up ready to start our work week? Do we walk into Monday with the same zeal and servitude we possessed the day before? What about the rest of the week? Does our faithfulness endure throughout the week or does it fade as the days progress?

Without the safety net of the church building, we are forced to either serve or not, on our own, in an environment with much less accountability and support. I think we would do well to consider how we hold up under such circumstances.

In the Trenches

I recently spoke with my closest friend. Keep in mind these conversations are often a bit disorganized and chaotic, so I can’t even remember exactly what the topic was, or even which one of us even said this, but a comment was made that was incredibly enlightening to me.

“Real service to God happens in the trenches, not in the pews”

This is not to say that our worship is unimportant or “not real.” I believe the point is that what we do on Sunday is not the full scope of our service to God. One brother told me one time that he considered Sundays as the preparation for the rest of the week. I think there is a lot of truth to that.

Consider the Source

Think about this with me. I am sure the disciples felt most encouraged when they were at the feet of Jesus. But, why were they there? Was it not so that they could do the work that they were given when they would be away from Him (Matthew 28:19-20)? Consider Paul. I am sure it was nice for him to spend time with the others after his conversion (Galatians 1:18). However, Paul’s real service was the work he did on his journeys and with the churches of the day.

What about Us?

So what does your service look like on Monday? Are you using the encouragement and knowledge gained the day before so that you can be a better brother, sister, encouragement, evangelist, servant, husband, father, wife, mother, Christian? Or, do you expend your best efforts for the Kingdom on Sunday only to remain inactive until it is time to go back to the church building?

If so, let’s resolve to be better together. Let’s work together using what we take in on Sundays and impact the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. Let’s get into those trenches and do the work.

“Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest”

(John 4:35b ESV).

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