So a few weekends ago we had a garage sale to raise money for missions (Speed the Light, for those who know). It was a ton of work but well worth the payoff. Looking back there is one interaction from the whole weekend I keep coming back to...
I was temporarily the guy you pay for the junk you buy and this lady came up to check out. It was later in the day so our prices were already super low. Anyways this lady proceeds to try to negotiate with me for lower prices. Everyone was doing that so up to this point I'm okay. Then she throws this line out, "Well I am an evangelist. I travel all over speaking. So could you give it to me for cheaper." WHAT! So the fact that you "work for God" is a reason you should get a discount at a sale that 100% of the proceeds are going to support his kingdom. I don't get it. Aren't we on the same team? Shouldn't you be willing to support missions since your life is missions?!
Since then I've been wondering how often I try to use my position at the church to get a perk or bonus. My prayer is that I don't use the Kingdom of God for personal gain. How about you? Do you ever find yourself trying to use God as a bargaining chip in life? Post your thoughts.
In the end I let her have the item for $1 cheaper than we were asking, so if anyone wants to donate a single dollar to make up for it, please feel free.
3 comments:
No joke, I'm mailing you a $1 bill today. I totally agree that we must consistently ask ourselves if we are using the Kingdom of God for personal gain.
It's easy to get wrapped up in what you do versus what should be done through you. I read yesterday about the importance of Christ being a servant by washing the feet of His disciples. He lead by serving, and that turns the whole idea of entitlement on it's ear. Good post, dude.
I think this is a good example of the mentality that some people have when it comes to serving. We serve others and tell people about God hoping he will bless us. Were so focused on the big things that we forget about all the "little things" that we are blessed with daily. If we're trying to live our lives like Jesus did then we will do things out of the willingness of our hearts instead of worrying about God blessing us.
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