We sometimes joke around in the office, saying that “ministry would be great if all these people weren’t around!” We laugh because people (including me, unfortunately) are difficult, but also due to the ironic fact that people are the most important reason we serve in ministry.
It’s notoriously challenging to deal with people in general, let alone difficult individuals. After all, when I serve another person, I’m trying to help the second most selfish person in the world. Guess who’s the most selfish? When John D. Rockefeller was asked which character quality he was willing to pay for the most when hiring employees, he responded without hesitation, “The ability to get along with people.”
Loving and serving people can be extremely difficult, but it’s always worth it. After our love for God, nothing is more important than our love for other people. When Jesus was asked, “which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” he replied “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:36-39).
Our love for others is even so critical and foundational that the Bible tells us we can’t love God if we don’t love people. Notice what we read in 1 John 4:20-21: 20 “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”
Would ministry be great if all these people weren’t around? Well… Not really. It might feel that way at times, but during those moments, I’m just confirming that I’m the most selfish person in the world.
Troy Burns