For the Lord, Not Men

For the Lord, Not Men

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to man." Colossians 3:23

We just finished up a three day staff retreat and has some great times of teaching, fellowship, amazing food, and good times of dialog. One of the exercises we went through was identifying who are number one customer is, and then identifying our secondary customers.

Because of the uniqueness of the Keswick ministry, identifying our primary customer was quite the challenge ... well at least at first. We aren't a business, yet we operate with business principles. We have two ministries: addiction recovery and conferences and retreats. So narrowing the field was very difficult at first.

I shared with our staff stories about the amazing customer service Noordstrom's and Disney offer their customers. They have readily identified their customer. Both organization live and die customer service.

Then I believe we had the "Aha!" moment ... We realized who the REAL customer is -- the Lord Jesus Christ. When I finally grasp that it is HIM that I am serving, then I will serve my secondary customers with excellence and enthusiasm.

Dr. Henry Blackaby writes: There is a unique difference between doing something for people and doing something for God. God always deserves our best effort. People will disappoint us, betray us, neglect us, and mistreat us. Some will constantly ask for what we can give while offering nothing in return. From our human perspective, these people deserve our minimal effort at best.

What then should motivate us to serve people, except our love for God? God deserves our love, and He demands that we love others in the same way He does. We are to love our spouses, not as they deserve, but as God commands. We are to treat our friends, not as they treat us, but as Christ loves us. We are to labor at our jobs, not in proportion to the way our employer treats us, but according to the way God treats us. God is the One we serve. (Ephesians 6:5)

He goes on to say: Mediocrity and laziness have no place in the Christian life. Christians must maintain integrity at home and in the workplace. Working for God, as opposed to working for other people, changes our perspective as we view our endeavors in light of what He has done for us. Our toil then becomes an offering to God.

We not only worship God at church on Sunday, but our labor throughout the week is an offering of worship and thanksgiving to the One who has given us everything we have. When people do not measure up to our expectations and we feel our efforts are being wasted, we must keep in mind that we are toiling for holy God. He is worthy of our best effort.

So who are you really serving? I believe when we get that right, HOW we serve will be so much easier. We serve the Lord, brothers, not men! -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 26; 2 Samuel 23-24; Luke 19:1-27

Great Quote: The pursuit of holiness is a joint venture between God and the Christian. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part. God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking; He does not do that for us.Jerry Bridges