Giving • Devotion 6

It’s All For Him
James Mann

“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” Galatians 6:14-15

As a children’s director, one of my favorite things to do is to listen to the conversations that children have. There is a battle that goes on almost weekly of who was up the latest and who got the least amount of sleep. It is one of the strangest things that I see children take pride in. Somehow, in their minds, the lowest amount of sleep you get equates to how cool you are. It reminds me of how adults often compare who worked more that week as if the more hours you put in that week makes you a better person. Understand that this is not a knock on anyone. As I am writing this, Easter 2022 has recently ended and I have realized how many times I have said, “Man, I worked 62 hours Easter week.” The truth is there is no bragging right in that.
 
As we are learning about going back to reach, I have begun to challenge myself with the state of my heart in serving Him. Is my focus to do more than anyone else around me? Am I trying to serve constantly so others look at me and are amazed at how good of a leader I am? Am I working with one eye forward on the work and one eye looking back at who is watching me? Am I looking for the call out during a meeting for going above and beyond? The truth is we all need to evaluate our mindset when we serve.

I believe one of the things that Paul is hitting heavily on here is the idea, “Who am I to boast? The only good things that have occurred have only occurred because of my Lord.” Paul constantly spends time in his ministry pointing people to the Lord. He does not want any of the credit, nor is he looking to be raised up in any way. He just wants people to see what the Lord is doing, and Paul just feels grateful that the Lord is using him as a tool in the process.

Paul points to the actions of the circumcised and uncircumcised, which refers to the Jewish believers and the Gentiles. He is saying that it does not matter what you do to try and work your way into Heaven as a Jew or Gentile. Our actions mean nothing without the actions of the Lord. That is who we should be pointing to when it comes to what we are doing with our lives. We should all spend some time evaluating our hearts when we are going back to reach and make sure that we are doing it with the intent of furthering the Kingdom of God and not elevating ourselves.