Our culture worships celebrities. Whether they are notorious for doing good or evil, we spend so much of our time scanning the tabloids in the grocery check-out (how do these magazines still sell with the internet so full of sensational content?!) or scrolling our social media to learn about the latest births or drama in the lives of the rich and famous.
As Christians, we really aren’t much better. Pastors, preachers, authors, and Bible study leaders whose books we buy, sermons we listen to, and conferences we attend demonstrate that we are tempted to bow our knee before other believers, too.
It’s been happening for centuries, and if we’re not careful, it can happen with us as we lead in the little corner of God’s kingdom where He’s placed us to serve Him.
It’s easy to assume that if you are in a small church in the middle of nowhere or if your church doesn’t do its services live on Facebook or YouTube (are there any that don’t anymore?) that there is no way you could succumb to the temptations that come with celebrity status. After all, your husband isn’t David Jeremiah or Billy Graham, right?
The problem with that mindset is that pride can creep in quite subtly even when you are in a church with only 15 worshippers a week. In some ways, a smaller circle brings an even greater temptation to think that you have a position of importance or that no one else can fill your role because, quite frankly, you are the only couple in your area with Bible education or maybe any college education at all.
No matter how small the place is where we minister, we can begin to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, rather than with sober judgement for the gracious gift of God in our lives (Romans 12:3).
Some diagnostic questions are in order as we close out this theme of Servant of All. As summer ends and we take our final reflection on what it truly means to serve, ask yourself these questions:
1) Do I feel the need to do everything in the church because I think I’m the only one who can really do it?
2) Do I live for the continual affirming words and constant approval of the people in our congregation?
3) Do I resent being in a small place when my husband’s or my gifts could be “better used” elsewhere?
4) Do I feel as if we deserve more recognition than what we are getting?
Ouch! Even writing these questions made my heart smart a bit with the truth of the wound. Our pride needs to be wounded now and then.
Of course, we also need encouragement from time to time in order to keep serving. There is nothing wrong with needing that, but if our underlying motives reveal that we are serving ourselves more than serving others and serving Christ, then we’ve missed the point. Further, unjust treatment shouldn’t be dismissed. In ministry we are often falsely accused, misrepresented, and sometimes forced out.
But, even in those times, we can see the blessing of humility that can come. We aren’t failures in ministry when we are honest about our need for Him and we accurately assess our actions and attitudes each day, but it doesn’t hurt for us to eat humble pie once in a while, as long as we dollop that slice with a whole lot of grace.
We must remember that our mission is to take up the basin and the towel as Jesus did with His disciples, to suffer for the sake of the gospel and to joyfully serve, not to just make a name for ourselves. God will give us encouragement along the way that our service for Him is truly having an impact, but then we must quickly forget about ourselves in that work and remember that we only bless others because of His grace in our lives.
Then we can turn the glory back to Him, not keep it for ourselves and have it die out like a dollar-store glow bracelet. The light of His glory will shine eternally if we quietly and faithfully serve Him and serve others with His truth and grace.
That is true celebrity status: giving HIM all the glory, following our model, the True and Only Servant of All.
Taking it Further: Take some time to think about the diagnostic questions above. Where might you need to make some adjustments in your thinking? What can you do practically to guard against the temptation to celebrity status in your place of service?
