Our Duty To One Another

Our Duty to One Another

Introduction:

In today’s world we are very private. We like to keep our business to ourselves and we are very comfortable without anyone interfering with our personal business. When someone does decide to attempt to get themselves involved in our business we call them nosey and tell them to mind their own business. I believe this privatizing of our world is not such a good thing. Most of you probably remember times when people sat on the front porch and talked to people as they walked by. You probably remember a time when you knew most of your neighbors and what was going on in their lives. Today, very rarely do you see people welcomed into other people’s homes, or people sitting on their porch or the concept of being a neighbor.

As the church we are a community of believers. We are referred to as the body of Christ or the family of God. We learn that if the church as a whole is going to thrive than we must work together to make her thrive. Sometimes it is like we are doing our own thing. We are all going in different directions, and sometimes we forget to take time out for one another.

Not only have we become privatized as the church, but also the emphasis has shifted from others onto ourselves. You hear it all the time. If people are not getting something out of the church they are attending they will go somewhere else that gives them what they want. You hear people saying that the service “did not do anything for them.” Most of the time the people they expect the church to be designed to make them feel good and provide entertainment for them do not provide anything for anyone else. They want to be waited on and served, they want a good show, but they don’t want to be the one’s to exert any energy to provide anything for others. One of the foundational truths that we learn as we become Christians is that we should be willing to put others above ourselves and that we are blessed by having a focus on serving one another above ourselves.

I believe that this selfishness that dominates society has bled into the church and is one of the greatest problems that we have to deal with and don’t think the church doesn’t have these problems. Often times our focus is on what we can get and not on what we can give to others. I hope that your time here today is not just spent seeing what others can give you, but also going out of your way to see what you can give to other people. It is time we as the church saw the church as the body of Christ and stopped trying to work independently, but committed to work together for the same cause. We need to get out of our mindset that our lives are our business and no one else’s. We have become so private that we do not let anyone into our personal lives, and therefore we cannot really minister to one another.

There is a difference between a duty and a privilege or option. There are some things which we as Christians have a choice in whether we do it or not. Some things, however are a duty, meaning we don’t have a choice in the matter. I really believe the Scriptures make it clear that each of us who makes up the church, who calls themselves “Christian” has a duty to their brothers and sisters in Christ. Duty is defined as: “an act or a course of action that is required of one by position, social custom, law, or religion.”

Text: Galatians 6:1-10

I. Serve One Another

One of the main ideas I want to emphasize this morning is that we should have a genuine concern for one another as the body of Christ and as a community of believers. One of the saddest things about the church today is the focus on self. Many times people are concerned with what they can get and what they can do for themselves rather than looking at what others may need and how they can serve one another. One of the greatest strengths of the early church was their commitment to one another. They were committed to meeting one another’s needs. They were committed to serving one another. I think it is important for us to note that if we are going to be a Christian we must be willing to serve one another. It is a duty, not a suggestion.

I Peter 4:10

The Scriptures do tell us that every Christian has unique talents and abilities and that they are to use them for themselves to make it through in life. No, it says they are to use those gifts for the serving of one another.