Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. – Philippians 2:3-4
How much of all we do, whether in ministry or not, is done for the wrong reason? How often have we served for fear of looking bad in the eyes of others? How often have we served because we desired to look good in the eyes of all? Frankly, whose interests are we truly serving when we serve? Difficult questions like these require authentic answers from the person who desires to honor God in all he or she attempts for His cause.
We simply must serve God’s interests above all others and we do this best when we die to our own self-interests and offer ourselves to others unselfishly. But make no mistake, it is not as easy as it sounds. Collaboration is a “buzzword” in today’s ministry concordance, but is often misappropriated. For too many, it means that “we work with those who do things our way.” Yet, true collaboration means that we are “open-minded” (willing to have others speak into our process) and “open-handed” (willing to give our process away).
“Self” is an insidious, conniving, deceitful enemy and it must be defeated every moment of every single day (personally and corporately) as we follow Christ. It is also the enemy of service and the unity that Jesus desires to see in His Bride and must be put to death.
Collaborate? First, crucify.
The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service. The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless. – Billy Graham
