40-Days to Servanthood: Day 37

Servants need never burn out.

Servants can burn out, of course. But why do they? I can cite two major reasons.

First, there’s the 80-20 rule. It says that in any organization, 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people. Conversely, 20% of the work gets done by 80% of the people. Servants burn out when they shoulder more than their share of the responsibility for serving in the church, at home, at work, or in the community. All Christians need to see that the call to faith in Jesus is also a call to service (First Peter 2:9-10) and that every Christian is gifted for service (Romans 12:1-8).

But there’s another reason that servants burn out. The apostle Paul writes in Second Corinthians: “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (Second Corinthians 9:7). The attitude Paul describes relates to more than just our financial giving, helping us to see several things:

(1) Burnout can be the result of wrong motives. When our giving--whether it’s of our money or of ourselves in service to others--is rendered “reluctantly or under compulsion,” it will burn us out. There's nothing more wearing or destructive to our spirits than "have to" religion.

(2) Burnout is avoided when our giving and serving result from having “made up” our minds to be givers and servants because of what Christ has done for us. Our minds are the filters through which we look at life and by which we gauge our experiences. If our minds are renewed in Christ (Romans 12:2) and we’re intent on being servants of God and of others, our whole experience of service will be positive, in spite of whatever difficulties we may encounter (Philippians 4:5-11).

By surrendering ourselves to Christ in “daily repentance and renewal,” we’ll become willing servants. We’ll become what Paul literally calls “hilarious” givers (Second Corinthians 9:7).

Servants need never burn out.

Bible Passage to Ponder: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)