agri.church

On Monday I mentioned that Richard Foster makes a number of distinctions between self-righteous service and true service. Here’s one of those distinctions…

Self-righteous service requires external rewards. It needs to know that people see and appreciate the effort. It seeks human applause - with proper religious modesty of course. True service rests contented in hiddenness. It does not fear the lights and blare of attention, but it does not seek them either. Since it is living out of a new Center of reference, the divine nod of approval is completely sufficient.

If our flesh whines against service, it screams against hidden service. The source of this desire? You guessed it, pride (here we go again). Now, let’s be clear. If someone recognizes and appreciates our service its not as if we need to reject their affirming words. Graciously receiving praise isn’t the issue - the issue is serving for the purpose of receiving praise.

How do we combat this desire to be applauded? We intentionally find ways to serve in hiddenness. Maybe we anonymously buy a gift card for a person who has lost their job or we choose to serve in a role that is behind the scenes. Someone (or maybe it’s multiple folks, I don’t know) at the Branch takes out the trash every week. I’m not sure who they are. No one has really been assigned to do it. Whoever it is, they just serve - never looking for attention or applause.

We silence our screaming pride when we serve in such a way that God’s approval is all we need. So what could you do today to serve in hiddenness? Get creative. Take a leap. Give it a shot. Let’s grow together!