Are you doing a good job at the wrong job"

I remember one summer, as a young pastor of a small church, a lesson that God taught me that redefined how I lived my life. The summer season was about to begin. School would soon let out, and an already small fellowship would get smaller still as attendance was sporadic due to summer vacations. As Pastor, most of my sermon series lasted 3 or 4 weeks. On occasion, a good sermon series would last 4 or 5 weeks, but as summer approached, knowing that many families would soon disappear like the spring frost, I was seeking the Lord for a topic that would last 2 or 3 weeks. I was seeking the Lord for a message that would simmer in their spirits all summer long, no matter where the season took them. Prayer was the topic that I felt the Lord was putting on my heart. It was a familiar topic for both myself and the congregation, so I began studying and praying. Little did I know, that what I was about to receive from the Lord would radically change the way I viewed life and ministry. The sermon series lasted 13 weeks, simply because the Lord wouldn’t allow me to move on. After a long summer, when families once again started attending regularly, they would return to a pastor that was quite different than when they left. Some liked the change and followed me on a new journey and some did not. Regardless, it was the summer that changed my life, and I would like to share with you what the Lord shared with me.

As I started praying and studying that last week in May, God vividly reminded me of something that took place years prior, while I was still in High School. For most of my High School years, I worked part time in a Supermarket Delicatessen. It was the perfect job for an Italian teenage boy that loved food as much as I did. It kept me surrounded by rotisserie chickens, fresh cooked roast beef, salami, provolone, anti-pasta salads, and so much more. Can you tell that I really loved that job? As a teenager who worked hard, I earned the respect of my boss, and was put in charge of the evening responsibilities. One of my responsibilities was to train a new hire that would work alongside of me during those evening hours. She was an older woman who just retired, and was looking for part time work. Her name was Mary, and she and I became good friends. I’ll never forget Mary’s first day on the job. After about an hour of showing her how to serve customers, I had asked her to go into the back kitchen area and clean the sink. One of the responsibilities we had during the evening hours was to clean all the dirty pots and pans that the full timers would use during the day. This all had to be clean and ready to use the next day. Mary proceeded into the back room while I continued to serve customers. The sound of pots and pans clinging and clanging around made me think to myself that she was doing a good job. After about 20 minutes I peeked my head around the corner to check on her, and to no surprise she was doing a fantastic job of cleaning the sink. I had honestly never seen that big, industrial sized, stainless steel, sink look so clean. The problem was however, that Mary had taken all of the dirty pots and pans out of the sink and set them aside on the counter so that she could “clean the sink” as I had instructed her to. I think we both learned valuable lessons that day. First, I learned that communication is extremely important, both for the one communicating, and for the one listening. At this point, as I was meditating on what the Lord had brought to my mind, I thought I had found the direction I would take when talking on prayer. God is always communicating to us, but we, like Mary, don’t always hear correctly. If in our prayer time we don’t take time to listen, then perhaps we aren’t really praying. Reciting a wish list to God isn’t really prayer. Learning to listen is an important part of our prayer life. As I thought about this story I wondered what else God would teach me, and what God revealed to me, changed the way I view the work He calls me to do as a husband, father, and minister. God would show me that doing a good job at the wrong job is a waste of time. It was Mary’s first day on the job, and I completely understood the fact that her nervousness, and perhaps even her eagerness, contributed to her mistake. I was gracious and sympathetic in my response, but I had to ask her to start over and clean the dirty pots and pans first, before “cleaning the sink”. She chuckled, started over, and never made that mistake again. The point is, I couldn’t allow her to leave things the way they were. A job had to be done and it needed to be done the right way. Doing a good job at the wrong job is a waste of time.

As I thought about that story I couldn’t help but think about the kingdom of God here on earth, and the work that He calls us to do. I fear that too many of God’s people are making the same mistake Mary made when it comes to His work. God calls us to do many things. He calls us to be true followers of His Son Jesus Christ; He calls us to be Godly men and women; to be a Godly spouse, parent, employee, or employer. There are many things He calls us to do in order to advance the Kingdom of heaven on earth. As I looked at the Call of God upon my own life, and the hard work I was doing, God gave me my “Mary cleaning the sink” moment. God showed me that there were several things in my life that I was doing “for Christ” that was simply a waste of time. God had called me to do a job, and that job needed to be done the right way. He couldn’t allow me to leave things the way they were. There were several areas in my life where I was doing a good job at the wrong job, and learning this made me upset at myself. And, as if this lesson hadn’t been hard enough for me to accept, there was more.

Again, I was initially upset at myself because I felt as though I had wasted my time. No one likes to waste time. Life is too busy to waste time. The harder lesson came however, when I realized that it wasn’t my time to waste. I had wasted God’s time. God is eternal, but has chosen time and seasons to accomplish His will on the earth and in our lives. 2 Peter 3:9-10 reveals God’s will for the people of this world. It says: “…He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” God is patient with His children, but at the same time He reminds us that there will be an appointed time when His judgement will come to those who have not come to repentance.

During that time with the Lord when He was reminding me of Mary, and how she had wasted her time, He also reminded me of 2 scriptures. The first one was Psalm 127:1 (NIV) that says “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain”. The second scripture is Mark 11:17 (NIV) that says “And as he taught them he said, is it not written: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”. Laboring in vain is certainly not moving in power. We may move from experience. We may move from our own creativity and ingenuity. We may even move from the wisdom and council of others, but if what we are doing is not rooted in prayer, then it will eventually amount to nothing. Notice what this verse does not say. It does not say that unless the Lord builds the house, no house (or structure) will be built. Nor does it say that unless the Lord builds the house, the house will remain empty. One thing that I have noticed over the years as a pastor is that Christianity has gotten good at the “business” of church. There are certain leadership principles that work. Though they may have to be adjusted according to who and where it is applied, church leaders would serve the kingdom well if they continued to strengthen their leadership and administration skills. These skills have proven successful in growing churches and managing the ministries God calls us to. However, the danger comes when we manage and administrate prayer and the Holy Spirit out of the equation. We have learned well what draws a crowd and even what keeps a crowd coming back. The ability to build a church however, and fill it with people, isn’t necessarily proof that God is building it.

As the pastor of a small church I had always relied on the power of God’s Holy Spirit to work in and through us to reach our community, and to advance God’s kingdom in the lives of those who attended. There really was no choice to do anything else except rely on God, because finances and resources were scarce. Prayer was the only resource we had, and we began to realize how powerfully it worked. As the church began to grow, people with gifts, talents, and abilities began coming, and an excitement for being involved in God’s work filled the air. We began to do more within the church, as well as outside of it. We saw growth in all areas for several years in a row. We were still a small church in a small town, but certainly we felt more and more established within the community. A great foundation was laid, so we then started to build upon that foundation. After several years of growth however, we began to experience a stagnancy. We had reached a plateau, and it was in this place that God began to show me that some of what we had established, upon that foundation, was simply a waste of time.

Many times what we do in church or ministry, or what we do as a Christian husband, wife, or parent seems good. Many times what we do in the name of Jesus seems blessed and productive, just like Mary’s sink was spotless. However, if it is not exactly what God has asked of us, or if something is missing in our attempt to obey and fulfill His Will, could it be that we are wasting our time? How tragic it would be for us to one day, when in heaven, look back at our life here on earth, only to see a life filled with accomplishments that were simply a waste of time in light of eternity. We can have what looks like the perfect church, the perfect marriage, the perfect family, or the perfect plan for success in whatever area we are looking to be successful in, and still be misguided in our attempt to build what God is asking us to build. What is God asking you to build? He desires us to build a strong faith in him, a strong Christian marriage, and strong God focused children. Perhaps he is asking you to build (or establish) a strong Christian ministry, business, or community. Again, Psalm 127:1 says “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” We can certainly be one of the Lord’s builders, while at the same time, just as certainly, be wasting our time.

What I find happening in my own life is that there are times when the Will of God is very clear, and there is no mistaking what He wants me to do. When this happens it’s easy for me to get busy doing the work of the Lord, whether that’s as a husband, father, or minister. Much prayer goes into the first season of obeying Him, because at first, His Call always seems too big for me to handle. Then, as some time goes by, having kept busy doing what I was so sure God had called me to do, God gives me my “Mary cleaning the sink” moment. I find myself looking around and realizing that something is not completely right, something is missing. It’s then that I usually realize that somewhere along the line, I stopped depending on prayer as much as I had been. I had stopped praying for what had become very comfortable and second nature for me, and so I missed what God was saying somewhere in the middle of my attempt to obey him. Then, other times I realize that it wasn’t so much that I missed what God was saying, but rather, I ended up adding my own wants, wishes, and desires to His original plan.

How much of what we do is God’s Will, and how much of it is the result of our Will? Could it be that a lot of God’s work in our lives, and churches, are a mixture of His plans and ours? If God’s Will for our life has some of our wants, wishes and desires mixed in, then at what point does it cease being God’s Will? How long, then, will God allow us to continue building something that is a waste of time in light of eternity. I believe this happens too often in the lives of God’s people and in His church today. If we take a close look at the church in America, I believe we would see that we have bigger churches than ever before in our history, more resources and finances than ever before in our history, and more programs and ministries than ever before in our history, yet at the same time something just doesn’t seem right, something still seems missing. I say this because as we look at society today it doesn’t seem as though the church is influencing our culture as much as it did in the past. Perhaps today’s church needs a “Mary cleaning the sink” moment. Perhaps we, as God’s people, are so busy “cleaning the sink” that we don’t realize there is still a lot of junk inside. In becoming people of prayer we must always realize and understand that prayer prevents us from laboring in vain. That understanding will help us depend more and more on prayer, and will keep us from becoming comfortably dependent on our own gifts, talents, and abilities. Are you doing a good job at the wrong Job? Perhaps a time of prayer is needed so that God can reveal to you the areas of His will that we have contaminated with our wants, wishes, and desires. “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17).