Years ago I remember working in college ministry. I was going and running all the time, pushing myself to do The Lord’s Work. Needless to say, I was a little high strung and I was in the process of getting onto another believer for their lack of hyper-enthusiasm. I remember it as clear as day that a guy I knew well and respected walked past and said “dude, chill out”. I realized at that moment that I was not a picture of grace and peace, instead I was more of the picture of the American work ethic. At this point, I had to stop and ask myself, did Jesus have the American work ethic, or has it become an idol that we serve in place of Jesus.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying not to work hard, and someone is probably going to quote the “work as unto the Lord”. We should be diligent and faithful in our work, but let’s be honest. The American work ethic is work to prove you are a real man (or woman). It’s more of a pride (ego) sort of thing than it is being faithful. Why do I say that? Because those who work hard, long hours and sacrifice their health, hobbies and often their families will tell you all about how hard they work. They say things like “I worked hard to get where I am” or “I paid my dues” or they say “no one ever gave me anything” because they are taking the credit for as hard as they work and all they have earned. Is this view really compatible with the Gospel? Is this how Holy we are, or is it simply how much ego we have?
To answer my question, I took a look at the life of Jesus. No one would say that Jesus didn’t work hard, but He wasn’t consumed with it as we are. He stopped working, had time for a retreat and for having dinner with friends and for prayer. He took time to travel different places and took naps in the front of boats. What Jesus did was serving smarter, not working harder. He did the Lord’s work in real life. I think the difference comes from us doing the Lord’s “work” and no so much the Lord’s will. We are called to make disciples as we go, instead of the “GO” that we emphasis so much. We don’t stop what we are doing to go the work, we work while we are living. If we really approached the Great Commission as a life style more than a task, the result would be that we will chill out.
So yes, we love reports and counts and all that fun stuff, and I enjoy my spread sheets and my charts and counts too. I love to know how many people ave been changed and touched, and I love to know I am making a difference, but end the end, it’s not my job. My job is to share as I go, in my life, as I do what I normally do. My life and my lifestyle should all be around reflecting Jesus, doing ministry and living our my faith. I don’t have to “work hard” to be like Jesus, it should become more and more of my life every day. I should be transformed into the likeness of Christ, which isn’t something that requires more work, it requires more Holy Spirit. It’s not something I brag about, trumpet or post on a resume. It should be in my core DNA, it should be who I am. If I have to proclaim how hard I am working all the time, maybe I have the wrong motivation.
Your reports and counts, spread sheets and charts are your view of what happens. There is only one or maybe two who knows if lives have been changed; God and the person changed. I have been where you are. Your friend had some good advice. Chil out and spend more time with a person to invest in them and less in counting the numbers. I regret not doing so.
Fast becoming my favorite verse is the portion in Matthew 25:37a “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You……” I am discovering that it isn’t what I think I have to do, it is when I have achieved the right relationship with Jesus Christ that I begin to do naturally what Jesus did and somehow I become like Him and do works unto Him unknowningly. That paradox is similar to being chosen and free will. We focus on Christ and the energy produced through us is the ministering to Him through them.
“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” John 21:25
Don’t chill, fulfill.
No the HS needs more of us.
gloriadyet,
You are exactly right, no one can add anything to that.
I think I found my next year’s theme 🙂
Great Post!
You said, I should be transformed into the likness of Christ, which isn’t something that requires more work, it requires more Holy Spirit.
Sir, we cannot get more Holy Spirit, it’s how much we give ourselves to the Holy Spirit.
Jess, isn’t “getting more Holy Spirit” related to “work out your salvation?”
And, doesn’t the command: “Be filled with the Holy Spirit” imply “doing” something (work)?
It all involves grace: justification, sanctification, and glorification. But a life of faith is a life of work it seems to me, according to James for example.
“” but He wasn’t consumed with it as we are.””
I have to agree with you Dan — He was much more consumed than we are.
I do get what you are saying though I see it with a bit of a twist. I can see how this post could get the “whiny pastor” label, but I am confident you are not looking for any sympathy.
However, Jesus was “much more consumed” than we are. If you take all of His retreats together they do not equal the consummation of His life on the cross.
Even the times of prayer — at least once He worked so hard at prayer He sweat blood.
I think we DO have to work hard if we are like Jesus, but it is being like Jesus that results in the work, not the work that leads to being like Jesus.
I’m thinking perhaps we are looking at the same elephant from a different perspective. Thanks for the post.
Franks, there is a difference between the work and will of the Father and the “work” we do, which may or may not have anything to do with the Father, and more to do with “success”, however we define it. American culture would say that the success Christ had came when His following was at it’s largest and they tried to crown Him king. I doubt He would agree.
“” I doubt He would agree.””
I would not agree either.
Frank,
We cannot get more Holy Spirit than we received the moment we were saved. No one gets part of the Holy Spirit as if we receive him in stages.
As we grow in the Lord, He gets more of us. We start out as babes in Christ, on the milk of the word, then we progress onto more solid food.
The Bible teaches we can be filled many times, but only receive Him one time. All of him.
I can guarantee that you misunderstand the OP; he does not believe in progressive indwelling.
More Holy Spirit refers to more of Him rather than more of anything else in our life.
The tea can only become stronger if you leave the bag in to steep longer, not by adding anything else to the cup.
Greg, we simply cannot get more of the Holy Spirit, He can get more of us
when we sincerely yield ourselves to him. We read in the scriptures of many who were led by the Spirit. It all depends on how much we as individuals give ourselves to the Spirit.
Jess – if you can get past your desire to read the OP in a concrete rational manner, there may be hope for you yet:
This is exactly what Dan means. “More Holy Spirit” does NOT mean a greater quantity (as if that were possible) it refers to Dan’s desire for the Holy Spirit to take up a greater percentage of his time and thoughts. To become like Jesus, we can’t do that by having an excessive devotion to the Cowboys or to Call of Duty on the xBox or to the refurbishing of fine older cars.
None of these things are bad, but if they consume more time than does Scripture or church, that is they occupy a greater percentage of your time and thought life, then our walk will reflect that we spend more of our time with the Holy Spirit than the world.
Greg,
That statement is still incorrect. If someone is not well versed in scripture
they would come to the conclusion that you can get more Holy Spirit.
I went back and read the post once again, and that sentence sticks out like a sore thumb. In the third paragraph Dan said Jesus wasn’t consumed with his work. I disagree with this point also. Jesus was consumed with his work. The Bible says Jesus sought rest but found none.
Jess, I think you are misinterpreting the intention of the work, reading something that was never intended. The key to this post is we are concerned and focused on our “works” and how much we do. This is not to say that we shouldn’t be consumed with the Father’s business, but there is a great amount of Pharisee-ism I see in the world today. We are not consumed with God and His work, we are consumed with our work for God. This is different, and it’s mainly ego driven. We don’t believe in works salvation, but we believe in works everything else.
My comments are more Holy Spirit is in contrast to the more work. It’s a literary technique, not a theological position or a doctrinal position.
Jess, if you would like to discuss it, my email is davemillerisajerk@hotmail.com
Dave Miller,
Nothing to discuss.
Dan Barnes,
Thank you so much for the explaination, I agree with your blog. I like the point you made. I’ve often found myself doing the same thing you are speaking against. Many times, it’s as if we are leading the Holy Spirit instead of the Holy Spirit leading us.
It is wonderful to just take time to sit at Jesus feet and commune with him. Sometimes I think we require more of ourselves than the Holy Spirit requires of us.
We can and do work our way into a burnout, and that is a sad thing.
We all need to take your advice, and give ourselves to the Holy Spirit.
Great blog, I cannot wait until the next one. Thank you.
never mind.