Room to Serve

Through the years, I’ve learned that when I don’t look at the whole picture before I say yes to a request, I make myself crazy and my family miserable. When people ask for help, I jump in and rarely leave margin for myself. At least, I used to. Now I pause. I am a recovering over-committer.

At first, the pendulum swung too far in the opposite direction as I attempted to rid myself of the label over-committer. I said no to everything extra that came my way, and it worked. I freed many spaces on the calendar, my family saw my desire to prioritize them, and I flourished at work. God began to whisper to me about a new ministry direction, and I was able to prioritize my health in important ways. These things were all necessary and important. But I also dropped the ball on a lot of commitments and let people down.

In Matthew 25:31–46, Jesus identifies several specific ways God expects us to respond to other’s needs. He starts by telling the people listening, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left” (NIV).

Jesus explains in verses 34 that he will address the two groups starting with the group on his right—the “sheep.” And then in verses 35 and 36, he explains that he will praise the choices they made, saying,

• “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.”
• “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.”
• “I was a stranger and you invited me in.”
• “I needed clothes and you clothed me.”
• “I was sick and you looked after me.”
• “I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

His followers who are listening are confused. They don’t remember when they helped Jesus in any of these circumstances. In verse 40, Jesus reveals the connection: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

The other group—the “goats”—will not have chosen to serve the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger. Jesus warns that he will respond to them differently: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (verse 45). Then in verse 46, Jesus says, “They will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

It’s clear that when someone is in need, God expects action. Additionally, in verse 31, Jesus is clear that all the nations will gather for judgment. None will be exempt.

When I was overcommitted and running on empty, if someone mentioned that a small group member was having a baby and needed meals while recovering, my stress level shot up. I immediately thought of all the reasons making a meal was way too much for me to add to my already full calendar.

But I was the one who signed up to participate in the small group in the first place. If my fellow group member couldn’t rely on me to be the church for her, who could she look to? Jesus made it clear that we serve one another by responding to direct needs. He also proved this in how he served people. Throughout the Gospels, we read that Jesus healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, allowed the lame to walk, and fed the hungry. He met people’s daily needs.

Just as we can’t fill our bank accounts with positive feedback from employers, our needs won’t be met with good thoughts and well wishes. In hard seasons we need others to step in and be the hands and feet of Jesus for us, and we need to reciprocate.

It took a few months for the pendulum to settle on my calendar, but I’ve found a healthy balance. I started by figuring out who my community is, and I’ve committed to prioritizing time to step up and help them when they ask—within that balance.

It was worth the effort to figure out how to better balance serving the people around me and my family while still protecting my health. But I serve not because serving makes me feel good but because when I actively serve another, I do more than delight God; I serve him.

Beth Walker is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.

Photograph © Priscilla Du Preez, used with permission