Despicable Me

I have a confession to make.  I am a very selfish person who likes things done my way, I want things that I want now and not later, I think that I can justify my wrongs and should be praised for my rights.
If I were left to indulge my selfish self daily, I would be quite a egotistical and despicable person - and often I can be.  People sometimes tell me differently, but I know the truth of what lives inside of me.  The sinful nature in me just waits to wrap its vines of device around me.
Since I volunteer for Compassion, I really think that there are a few people who believe that caring for those who live in poverty or being willing to sacrifice my wants or needs for them comes naturally to me.  I hear all the time, "It is great that you are doing that, I don't think I could."  Believe me, I didn't think I could until I was placed in a situation where I had to make the decision to do it and I know that I really could do more, if I chose to do so.  But little nagging thoughts tell me that "I deserve this" or "I need that" or "Everyone else is getting this" or "Even they are buying that".  We look at people like Mother Theresa or missionaries who give up everything, even their own lives, and think that God must have given them a better strand of Spiritual DNA than He gave to us. But the older I get and the more of God's people with whom I am acquainted, the more I realize that it all boils down to choices.  I have to choose to do what I know is right and the most beneficial, even if every bit of my will wants something different.  Sometimes I allow myself to fail and sadly can easily excuse it away. Sometimes I can succeed and foolishly pat myself on the back.  But in the end, God doesn't want me to even judge my own actions.  The Bible even says, "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:3-4
I get asked on occasion, "Are you and Josh on staff at the church?", which can be often be translated as, "Do you get paid for being nice to me, introducing yourselves, leading the youth group (or whatever we did that caused them to raise that question)?  The answer to the translation is no, we do not get paid.  But I have been known to answer on more than one occasion to the first question, "No, we don't get paid.  But we are on staff, and you are too.  Since this church is God's house, if you are a Christian, you are a part of his staff - whether you have just walked in the doors of the SRC building for the first time this morning or have been here from the beginning.  Because our job is to represent God, not just a church community.  So my job here is to represent God to everyone I come into contact with and help them in any way that I am able, whether I hold any position or title or not." (I usually get quizzical glances or blank expressions when I say this, so I have to resist the urge sometimes!)  But we think of people who are "professional Christians" (as our pastor jokingly refers to paid church staff) as being the ones who should call a person who you know is hurting or lonely or to be the one to help them figure out the nursery procedures or to know how to handle an awkward or sticky situation. And then we wonder why people don't feel loved or get frustrated in the church.  It is because it is ALL of our jobs to be God's hands and feet and we shouldn't expect the church staff to be the ones to serve others in the church.  Church staff members don't get handed super-human abilities with their paychecks.  They have sick kids, ailing parents, bad days and forgetfulness, just like everyone does.  They aren't given a ticket to an easy life, so that they can be free to serve the needs of their church. And their jobs are not only "shepherding the flock", but being sure that the bills are paid, the copies are made, and the lights and heat get turned off, etc., etc., etc. 
So we should all consider ourselves as "professional Christians", because whether we are doctors, secretaries, or a stay-at-home moms, our jobs are to be a living and active member of the body of Christ and allow others be the same to us.