Toilet Theology - Service in the Small
In
a recent post I considered the question, “What does it mean to Serve?” I set
forward a definition of Christian service being: a response to the love Christ
has shown us on the cross. In this
response we take on Christ’s mindset and mimic His love for people both in and
out of the church. We lay down of
our lives and interests for the benefit of others through acts of love. In this current post, I would like to
continue the conversation on service and think about one aspect, “How do we go
about cultivating an attitude of service in our life?”
I
have met many Christians who are bought into the idea of Christian service but
something goes awry between their head and their hands. Many Christians I talk to have a heart
for service and even dreams of starting large mercy ministries. I know faithful men that are training,
dreaming, and scheming about how they can bring clean water, health, and the
Gospel to India. I know many Godly
Christian women who want to help orphans and the underprivileged through
plugging into or starting mercy ministries in our city. But again, I think something is missing
between the head and the hands.
These are great dreams of serving Christ and others, but I believe true Christian
service must start small to ever go big.

Richard
Foster in his book Celebration of
Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth gets at the idea of cultivating a
heart for service through small deeds in his great chapter on service. He says, “True service is a
life-style. It acts from ingrained
patterns of living. It springs
spontaneously to meet human need” (129), as well as, “Nothing disciplines the
inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the
desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness. The flesh whines against service but screams against hidden
service” (130). Foster quotes
thoughts from Francis de Sales about service in the small when he says, “the
ministry of small things is a daily service. Large tasks require great sacrifice for a moment; small
things require constant sacrifice…’If we want to be faithful to these small
things, nature never has time to breathe, and we must die to all our inclinations. We should a hundred times rather make
some great sacrifices to God, however violent and painful, on condition that we
be freed with liberty to follow our tastes and habits in every little detail’” (135).
Small
acts of service get at the heart of service. We have to die to self to serve well. It is akin to Jesus’ words in Matthew
16:24, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me.” It is this
daily act of learning how to die to ourselves in service to others through the
small things that prepares us for the big things. This principal can be seen in parable of the talents in Matthew
25:14-30. All believers have been
given different gifts and abilities by the Spirit of God to serve the body of
Christ. Christ tells us in Matthew
25:23 that if we are faithful in the little things he will help us to
accomplish the big things that he has placed in our hearts.
If
you are wondering how you should begin reforming the way you serve the Kingdom
of God, Foster give nine areas of service you can cultivate. These include (134-140):
The
Service of Hiddeness
The Service of Small Things
The Service of Guarding the Reputation of Others
The Service of Being Served
The Service of Common Courtesy
The Service of Hospitality
The Service of Listening
The Service of Bearing the Burdens of Each Other
The Service of Sharing the Word of Life
If
you set your heart to cultivate these aspects of service you may never make the
news or the cover of Christianity Today,
but you will silently change the world and have a Savior who will say “Well
done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).
If
you have dreams of serving the Kingdom of God in big ways then let me encourage
you to begin serving the Kingdom in small ways. These small daily acts of service are the training ground
for a heart and mind that is prepared to handle and execute bigger ways of
serving the kingdom. Starting
small not only applies to acts of service, but also is a great principal for
missions, teaching, points of character, and many other ways in which we seek
to please our Lord and Savior, Christ.
I have often said the Christian life is won or lost in all the small
decisions we make everyday. In a
culture that values fame, importance, and big events learning how to serve in
the small and hidden keeps us focused on the only audience we should be
concerned about and that is God.
What
does the last public restroom you used say about your heart for service?
Foster, Richard. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1978, 1988, 1998. 236pp. $23.95
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