Greater Good

 

Sometimes it’s hard to step outside of our wants.

Sometimes all we can see is what we believe to be the best next step.

Sometimes we forget about the “Greater Good”

What’s the greater good you ask? The greater good is the need that goes beyond our own need. The greater good looks ahead and anticipates how a personal sacrifice now might mean an abundant blessing to others later. 

Staying focused on the greater good means we realize that our way might not be the only way.

We’ve all heard “There’s no I in Team”. It’s a funny play on words but it holds deep truth. Being “team” oriented means taking other people’s ideas into account. It means moving out of comfortable and familiar places in order to reach others.  It means working together with others to create a vision for the future together. As fellow Christians we function as a team.

In ministry we prayerfully follow Gods lead. We plan knowing that God sometimes moves us in directions that cause us to step out of our comfort zone.

Ironically One of the places that sometimes forsakes the “greater good” for personal comfort is the church. 

We get comfortable with the way things are and we don’t want to change. I’m not talking about Biblical truths or Theological understandings; I’m talking about things like church esthetics, events, music and ministry structure. 

We have churches still trying to behave as if it’s 1950 and everything from family dynamics to church attendance hasn’t changed. Then we sit back and wonder why we can’t grow or why we’re not reaching the demographic we so badly want more of.

I’ve often said that if we approached the local church like a mission trip we would probably see better results. What do we do on a mission trip? Well, we go with the intention and understanding that we are there to help bring the Gospel.

We know that not only happens through the reading of the world.. but in our actions as well. We have a “greater good” mindset. 

There is an aspect to mission trips that is uncomfortable. You must sometimes eat unfamiliar food and sleep in uncomfortable settings in the process of getting to know the people.

We easily accept that on a mission trip there is going to be some form of sacrifice; so why don’t we have that same attitude when it comes to our church setting?

Maybe you like quiet events with the older folks, but your church is hurting for children. Maybe you only sing hymns but week after week visitors tell you they’re looking for contemporary music. Maybe you continually see the volunteer needs of your church but you don’t want to give up your personal time to step in.

All of those examples work against the greater good.

Jesus’ entire ministry was based on this greater good concept.

Jesus didn’t make decisions that were easy for him, he lived for the greater good. He died so that all of us might live. There’s no stronger greater good example than that!

And although we can’t truly compare our life choices to Jesus’, we can use him as an example when we are faced with being his hands and feet in the world.

If we want to make a difference in the world we need to think outside of ourselves. We need to put our wants and needs aside and really look at what is needed.

We often jest that when we leave the walls of the church we enter the mission field. The same should also be true when we step into the church as well. What did we say we do on the mission field?

We sacrifice comfort for the needs of others because we realize at the end of the day, sleeping in that uncomfortable bunk house or eating that unfamiliar food brings us one step closer to opening up the eyes and ears of those we are ministering to.

We sometimes forget that things like church events, music and volunteer tasks are a means to an end. What is that end? Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the world.

Being a “greater good” Christian means that you look at your life, your church and your mission in this world as a way to reach out to others. When you do that you realize that there is sacrifice involved.

The understanding that Jesus had nowhere to lay His head comes directly from a conversation recorded in the book of Matthew and again in the book of Luke. Jesus was talking to a scribe who wished to follow Jesus and become a disciple.

In fact, the scribe boasted, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head”

These same passages mention two others who had similar discussions with Jesus. In each case, Jesus made the point that there is a cost to following Him. The scribe who said he wanted to follow Jesus wherever He went was not considering the lifestyle Jesus led. Our Lord was functionally homeless; He and His disciples stayed in the homes of those who would take them in (see Luke 10:6–8).

It was as if Jesus were saying, “Are you sure you want to be homeless with Me?” Even the animals have a place to stay—foxes have holes and the birds have nests—but Jesus literally had “nowhere to lay his head.” He wanted the scribe to truly count the cost of what he was proposing.  (Luke 14:28).

The fact that Jesus had nowhere to lay His head does not mean that every Christian today is called to live a life of poverty or forsake family and friends. Even in Jesus’ day, some of His followers were wealthy (Joseph of Arimathea, for example, in Matthew 27:57). 

But… every Christian should be at least willing to forsake all. Every believer is called to give up idols that stand in the way of following Christ wholeheartedly. Each one of us knows what those things are and how difficult it is to say goodbye to them.

Are we turning our churches, ministries and worship into idols instead of mission fields?

In the end, the heart that loves Christ will get rid of that competing love, despite the difficulty and anguish of doing so.

Foxes have dens, and birds have nests, but in this world we may have to do without for the sake of the “greater good”. Are you up to the task?

 

-Pastor Patti