I’ve had some experience in signing contracts with various musicians over the years to do concerts in the church. Those contracts spell out the details of what each party expects, and they contain few, if any, surprises.
That’s not the case with some of the big-name entertainers. For example, Van Halen’s contract insists that “a bowl of M&Ms be provided backstage, but with every single brown M&M removed.” If the band arrived and saw any brown M&Ms in the bowl, they could cancel the concert and still receive full payment.
It sounds silly, but Van Halen had good reason to include that in their contract. Lead singer David Lee Roth explains. He says:
“Van Halen was the first band to take huge productions into tertiary, third-level markets. We'd pull up with nine 18-wheeler trucks, full of gear, where the standard was three trucks, max. And there were many, many technical errors—whether it was the girders couldn't support the weight, or the flooring would sink in, or the doors weren't big enough to move the gear through. The contract rider read like [the] Yellow Pages because there was so much equipment, and so many human beings to make it function.” So he buried a little test in the middle of the contract: Article 126, the no-brown-M&Ms clause.
Roth says, “When I would walk backstage, if I saw a brown M&M in that bowl, we'd line-check the entire production. Guaranteed you'd run into a problem.” The mistakes could be life-threatening… In Colorado, the band found that the local promoters had failed to read the weight requirements and that the staging would have fallen through the arena floor (Atul Gawande, The Checklist Manifesto, Metropolitan Books, 2009; www. PreachingToday.com).
Jesus said, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much” (Luke 16:10). Now, that principle challenges and encourages those who wish to serve God. It challenges God’s servants to pay attention to the little things, but it also encourages them, because all they have to do is pay attention to the little things.
Some people fear serving God, because they complicate it so much. But serving God is simple—just faithfully do the little things God puts before you each day. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 4, 1 Corinthians 4, where the Bible spells God’s simple requirements for serving Him.
1 Corinthians 4:1-2 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful (ESV).
If you want to serve the Lord, then simply…
SERVE HIM FAITHFULLY.
Just reliably do what He tells you to do. Merely carry out His directions every day.
That means resist taking control yourself, because you are only a servant (vs.1), taking orders from the only One in charge. The word translated “servants” here is literally the word “under-rowers.” It described the slaves who rowed the huge Roman galleys. “We are not the captains of the ship,” said Paul, “but only the galley slaves who are under orders” (Warren Wiersbe).
You are only a servant, and you are only a steward (vs.1). You are only a custodian of God’s Mysteries. God’s ways seem mysterious at times, hard to understand, but God doesn’t require that you understand Him, just do what He tells you to do.
Corrie Ten Boom once received a letter from a missionary, who wrote: “Sometimes adversity tempts me to discouragement in the face of seeming failure. But I take courage and press on anew, as I remember that God does not hold me responsible for success, but for faithfulness. Jesus said, ‘Well done, you faithful servant’” (Corrie Ten Boom, Each New Day; Christianity Today, Vol. 34, no. 3; www.PreachingToday.com).
Let me tell you. That relieves the pressure! You can avoid the headaches of control in your pursuit of success. Instead, you can enjoy the blessings of compliance, leaving the results up to God.
Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).
Serving Jesus is easy. But you must resist taking control yourself and relinquish control to Him. Just faithfully follow His simple directions, not your own complicated plans
The film (and the book) The Soloist tells the true story of an unlikely friendship between Steve Lopez, a reporter for the L.A. Times, and Nathaniel Ayers, a talented musician and homeless schizophrenic living out of a grocery cart. Lopez had been trying to come up with a story for his newspaper column, and it struck him that Ayers could be that story.
Lopez began investigating and learned Ayers had attended Juilliard for two years in the '70s before having to leave for “personal reasons,” which turned out to his sudden onset of schizophrenia. The story focuses on their friendship as Lopez tries to help Ayers get off skid row and become a productive member of society. At one point Lopez writes:
“He plays for a while, we talk for a while, an experience that's like dropping in on a dream. Nathaniel takes nonsensical flights, doing figure-eights through unrelated topics—God, the Cleveland Browns, the mysteries of air travel, and the glory of Beethoven. He keeps coming back to music. His life's purpose, it seems, is to arrange the notes that lie scattered in his head.”
At one point, Lopez is frustrated that none of his attempts to help Ayers seem to be effective. A friend tells Lopez, “You can't fix [the city of] L.A. and you can't fix Nathaniel. So just be his friend and show up” (Ken Gire, Relentless Pursuit, Bethany House, 2012, pp. 134-135; www.PreachingToday.com).
Often, that’s all God asks you to do in His service. God will fix people. He just needs you to be a friend and show up.
That’s what faithful service is all about. Resist taking control yourself. Relinquish control to God and disregard your critics. Ignore what other people may think or say. That’s what Paul did.
1 Corinthians 4:3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself (ESV).
Paul ignored his own self-critical thoughts, much more the criticism of others. You do the same! Disregard those who may judge you, even if that person is yourself. You see, sometimes we are our own worst critics, but serving God is not about pleasing yourself or others. It’s about pleasing God.
When that truth gripped my own heart years ago, I found it to be one of the most freeing concepts of my ministry. That’s because I don’t have to worry about pleasing everybody in the church. All I have to do is please just ONE person. And that person is Jesus, who promised to reward even a cup of cold water given in His name (Matthew 10:42).
Late last year, Joseph Epstein wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal about opinion polls. They have been around for more than a century but gained authority in the 1940’s with George Gallup’s polling methods. Today, people put way too much stock in opinion polls. Epstein writes, “So endemic is polling that it feels as if what a politician does is less important than whether the public approves or disapproves.”
President Abraham Lincoln led the country in the days before all this polling, so public sentiment rarely, if ever, affected his decisions. Epstein writes:
“Early in his presidency he set aside morning office hours to receive visitors, many seeking favors or attempting to exert influence, or merely wishing to shake the hand of the nation’s leader… These visits… offered the president the opportunity… to get some idea of how ordinary people felt about him and his administration. Yet Lincoln, aware as he was of public sentiment, never allowed it ultimately to alter his policies or principles, which is one of the reasons he was a great man.
“For instance, some critics blasted his 272-word Gettysburg Address for being too short. But Lincoln stood by the speech, and… it became one of the greatest political speeches of all time” (Joseph Epstein, “A Pollster Would Have Spiked the Gettysburg Address,” The Wall Street Journal, 10-26-21; www.Preaching Today.com).
To be sure, listen to people. It’s a big part of ministry. But don’t allow their opinions to alter your principles. Just do what God directs you to do. Just do what you know to be right, and refuse to live for the praise of people.
That’s what Joe Rochefort did. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Commander Joe Rochefort broke Japanese communication codes. Stationed at an intelligence base in Oahu, he predicted the Japanese would attack Midway on June 3, 1942, which they did. Because of Rochefort's expertise, the United States surprised the Japanese Navy with its first defeat in 350 years. Japan lost four carriers, one cruiser, 2500 men, 322 aircraft, and their best pilots. Due to this crippling defeat, Japan eventually lost the war.
Surprisingly, Rochefort never received recognition for his efforts. Instead, some intelligence people in Washington, D.C., falsified reports and claimed credit, even though they had predicted a June 10 date of attack. Washington sealed the records for 40 years, and Rochefort was never properly rewarded. In fact, he was actually removed from intelligence and assigned to a floating dry dock in San Francisco.
In the book, Deceit at Pearl Harbor, the authors describe a note Rochefort kept on his desk: “WE CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING PROVIDING NO ONE CARES WHO GETS THE CREDIT.” The authors write, “That was the attitude that won the battle of Midway” (Marcia Hornok, Taylorsville, Utah; www. PreachingToday.com).
And that’s the attitude that wins the battles in ministry. Refuse to live for the praises of others. Instead, live for the praise of God. Disregard what others think; and instead, focus on pleasing God. Concentrate your efforts on hearing HIS “well done.” That’s what Paul did. In fact, Paul disregarded his own judgment.
1 Corinthians 4:4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me (ESV).
Paul cannot justify Himself. Only the Lord can, who examines Him. Paul disregarded even his own opinion about himself.
1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God (ESV).
The Lord knows things you don’t know. The Lord knows the hidden thoughts and motives of people’s hearts. And He will reward His servants accordingly. Each will receive the appropriate praise they deserve when Jesus comes again.
So live for that day. Live to hear His “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21, 23).
As a committed Christian, actress Sarah Drew lives that way. Even though she has achieved Hollywood fame with roles on Mad Men and Grey’s Anatomy, she performs on and off stage before an audience of One. In 2016, she spoke to the graduates of the University of Virginia from which she had graduated 14 years previously (2002). This is what she had to say:
“When the camera isn’t on you, what do you do? In real time, in real life, when people really need you in order to do what they need to do, how do you show up?” she asked. “And I mean the real you—not the carefully curated social media version of you, because, let’s be clear, all that world is a stage. And when we step onto it, we are players performing for our audience. Who are we out of the spotlight, when we’re not performing for an audience?”
She went on to say: “I try to stop obsessing about the camera, my career, the critics and whatever they’re saying about me, or when they’re not saying anything at all about me. And I try to focus instead on being present, giving 110 percent to whomever I am with, on or off the set, on or off camera. Because, most of the time, there are no cameras rolling. But life is always rolling.”
Drew continued: “Whether you are the intern or the CEO; whether you are running your household or running a company; living in a basement or living in a penthouse; whether you are doing the grunt work or getting the glory, life is always rolling” (Kaylyn Christopher, “Actress Sarah Drew delivers Valedictory address, urges graduates to live in the present,” Virginia.Edu, 5-20-16; www.PreachingToday.com).
She’s right. Unlike the cameras, life is always rolling, so stop obsessing about the camera, your career, or your critics, and just focus on being present. Just live your life before the only audience that matters—God. Serve Him faithfully. And…
SERVE HIM HUMBLY.
Use your gifts and abilities to glorify Him. Work for His honor, not your own.
1 Corinthians 4:6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another (ESV).
Paul and Apollos obeyed the Word of God as an example for others. They didn’t go beyond what God wrote in His Word, so that no one could inflate one man over another. Therefore, since each was doing only what God directed, They had no cause for boasting. In fact, they rejected the credit for any success they enjoyed, because None of their ideas were their ideas. They all came from God, so all the credit goes to God. Paul and Apollos set the example of humility for others.
1 Corinthians 4:7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (ESV)
Everyone is the same before God, because everything you have comes from God—your gifts and abilities, your resources, even your insights and plans. It all comes from God, so you have no reason to boast. Just gratefully use the gifts and abilities He gives you for His glory, not your own.
Former head football coach at the University of Colorado and Founder of the Promise Keeper’s movement, Bill McCartney, once wrote these words: “Jesus Christ has certainly had his hand upon the McCartneys. He has withheld no good thing from us. He has lavished so much upon our family.” And then Bill quoted one of his favorite verses, (Isaiah 26:12). “Lord, you establish peace for us; and all that we have accomplished, you have done for us” ("Introducing Christ to Your Child," Preaching Today, Tape No. 92; www.PreachingToday.com).
Bill McCartney humbly acknowledged the source of his success. All that we have accomplished, God has done for us.
Denzel Washington, speaking to a group of young actors, put it this way:
“I pray that you all put your shoes way under the bed at night so that you got to get on your knees in the morning when you wake up to find them. While you're down there, thank God for grace and mercy and understanding. We all fall short of the glory… but if you just start thinking about all the things you got to say "thank you" for, that's a day. That's easily a day!
“You'll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse… Now, I've been blessed to make hundreds of millions of dollars in my life. I can't take it with me, and neither can you. It's not how much you have. It’s what you do with what you have. And we all have different gifts: some money, some love, some patience, some the ability to touch people. But we all have it. Use it. Share it. That's what counts” (Joseph Sunde, “Denzel Washington: Share your Gifts; Don’t Abuse Them,” Acton, 5-29-14; www.youtube.com/watch?v =ESa45s7R4R8; www.PreachingToday.com).
Just humbly serve with the gifts God has given to you.
When former president, Ronald Reagan, was a teenager in Dixon, Illinois, he had a summer job as a lifeguard on the treacherous Rock River. One day, from his elevated perch at Lowell Park, this muscular son of a shoe salesman noticed one of Dixon's most popular girls waving at him.
“At least I thought she was waving,” Reagan recalls. “My chest puffed out a little, and I waved back. Then I turned away for a moment. When I looked again, she was going down. She had tried to signal for help” (Nancy Reagan, Ronald Reagan: An American Hero, p. 42; www.PreachingToday.com).
Sometimes, pride can blind people to the needs of others. Please, don’t let pride blind you. Just use the gifts and abilities that God has given you to serve Him and others. Don’t let your gifts be a reason for boasting. Just let them be a resource for serving.
Serving the Lord is not all that complicated. Just serve Him faithfully and humbly. Every day, just humbly do what He asks you to do and leave the results up to Him.
The author of the book Embracing Obscurity has concealed his identity, but not his insight. He writes:
“One evening, while watering the garden, the sheer sacrifice of true service overwhelmed me. There amongst the tomatoes and parsley, I realized that most of my previous attempts at service were very much like the garden hose in my hand: I was in control, dictating how, when, and to whom I would serve. With my nifty sprayer, I could even stop the water altogether when I felt like it. The ‘flow’ of Christ's love that I gave to others depended on my mood, the health of my career, and even how much sleep I got the night before. Mine was (and still often is) a self-righteous, self-gratifying service.
“In contrast,” this anonymous author continues, “I noticed a soaker hose in the planter across from me. It watered the ground completely indiscriminately. Dozens of holes let the water loose and had no shut-off switch. Life-giving water oozed out all over the place, like it or not! To serve like a soaker hose means to pour out Christ's love from every pore of our beings, not concerning ourselves with the timing, the effect it might have on our productivity, or the worthiness of the recipients. If God has ‘turned on the water’ in our lives, filling us with his life-giving springs, why would we hold them back from anyone? For fear of running out? Doesn't he have an infinite supply of living water?” (Anonymous, Embracing Obscurity, B&H Publishing Group, 2012, p. 98; www.PreachingToday.com).
My dear friends, just serve God like a soaker hose, letting His life-giving water ooze out through the holes, or the broken places, of your life. It’s a whole lot easier than trying to control the flow yourself, pretending that you have it all together.
