“Who would form a God or mold an image that profits him nothing? Surely all his companions would be ashamed; and the workmen, they are mere men….” Isaiah 44:10-11 NKJV
There was an episode of the situation comedy Seinfeld in which the character Elaine embarrassed herself with her drunken behavior at a work party. She later confesses to Jerry and George at the coffee shop, lamenting that her offense was especially bad for someone in her position. “Your position,” repeats Jerry incredulous and mocking. “What’s your position?” “I’m an associate,” answers Elaine. “Hey, I’m an associate too,” says George. “Yeah, me too,” remarks the waitress pouring their coffee.
In this comedy series that made a joke of everything and everyone, a show in which the characters’ behavior was so consistently reprehensible they were convicted and jailed for it in the finale, the punch line was despite Elaine’s sense of her own value in the company, associate positions don’t imply rank or ownership. They’re a dime a dozen. Elaine becomes the butt of the joke for believing otherwise.
There’s a very old Groucho Marx quote that goes something along the line of, “I wouldn’t belong to any club that would have me as a member.”
It seems our standards are always a little higher than our self worth, aren’t they?
There is no question we raise an imposing yardstick by which to measure anyone who dons the title “minister”. One dictionary defines a minister as an agent or instrument of another. The songwriter said the Lord made His ministers “a flaming fire” (Psalm 104:4). Paul expounded further, explaining to the Ephesian believers that, “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:10). Sounds like we’re agents and instruments to me.
I’ve been listening to a teaching series by Jack Hayford titled “Covet the Best Gifts”. The CDs were recorded in the summer of 1979 but the message is still as fresh as can be. The text includes 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.” Pastor Hayford draws the conclusion that all this equipping of us saints by our Father, first-born Brother, and Helper set us up to hang out our shingles. We are open for business as empowered believers. Sounds a lot like ministry to me.
So what’s my point? Like it or not, we are all ministers in the truest sense of the word. If we hold a treasure in these earthen vessels (2 Cor 4:7) – and we do – we are no longer mere men and women. We are empowered to craft and form the image of the one true living God in our corner of the world. This is for the profit of those whose lives God allows us to touch, and it matters whether or not we carry it out. It matters whether or not we understand our own gifts among the diversity of gifts. It matters whether or not we execute our ministry. Our activities matter. We Christians are not a dime a dozen, even if we haven’t figured that out yet. What did the Father have on His mind for you to do as He was speaking the worlds into existence? What does your “open for business” sign say?
So the next time someone tells you, “I’m a minister”, rather than hauling out your yardstick, just smile and answer, “Yeah, me too.”