I love to serve others. It is one of my favorite things to do. I love to pay for others, take others out, and make others happy. A few months ago, a Christian leader who is a good friend of mine told me not to make serving others an idol and not to put serving above God. I thought that I had nipped it in the bud, but apparently not because last night I spent all of my money and (unknowingly) went over the amount in my bank. Now, as I have said before, money means nothing to me, and if I was totally on my own, I would not have cared; but the face of the matter is that negative balance upset my mother (and may effect her) and just because money means nothing to me does not mean it is the same for her. That is what upsets me: not the lack of money, but the fact that it effected someone else.
Exodus 20:3-4 said, "you shall have no other gods before me. you shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven or on earth or in the waters below." We cannot make an idol out of anything, even God's works. I love to serve others, but if my service is not coming directly from God's love, I am putting service above God. 1 Corinthians 13:2 says, "if I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." If we do God's work without His love, and put the name of God above God Himself, it is idolatry. If we put works above God's will, or our Christian reputation above God's will for our lives, we have created an idol out of what God has given us.
I have learned that I have much more to learn than I can imagine. I know that I will make mistakes and will learn new things, but I cannot let serving others become an idol, or my service could do more harm than good. How can someone experience God's love without truly seeing His love? How can I show God's love if I am too busy trying to "do the right Christian thing" as opposed to whatever God is telling me to do? God's will comes first. Anything that comes before God is an idol.
-D
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