Tag: Christian ministry

 

“I’m so #blessed! Wala pa akong tulog but played during church service at 9AM, had lunch with my group, nag-counsel pa ako sa hapon and then led worship for the evening service! God’s so good! Thanks for giving me energy Lord!”

“100 people received the Lord! Hindi ako prepared mag-share but I led them all to receive Christ!”

On the surface, these statements seem harmless. On the surface, they do appear to glorify God. In the age of social media, is it right or wrong to update our social networks with all the deeds we’ve done for the Lord? There is nothing wrong with sharing the joy of serving in ministry however we have to watch out for there is a fine line between harmless sharing and sharing to boast of one’s good deeds.

How do I know this? I used to be like this.

At first, it felt good to share until my motives shifted—in my heart of hearts, I knew I was waiting for the commendation. Then the Lord convicted me and showed me that I am no different from the Pharisees who flaunt what they do to gain a reputation in the community. That rebuke was not easy. Confronted with it, I thought “Lord naman, I’m doing this for You… what’s wrong kung i-share ko sa social network ko?” While there isn’t anything majorly wrong with sharing, we have to be mindful of the words we use and more importantly, the MOTIVES.

Am I crafting the words in a way that will make me INCREASE and Christ DECREASE?
Am I doing this as an expression of my love for God and others?
Am I serving as an overflow of the grace I’ve received? Or do I serve because I want to gain a reputation for myself?
Am I serving because I want people to admire or compliment me?

Hard questions but as true believers, we need to come face to face with the sin in our hearts. I realized that no matter how good we think we are because we serve, go to church regularly and know so much about the Bible, sin manages to creep in and that is why WE NEED JESUS CHRIST. Kahit feeling natin ang bait bait na natin, we still fall short of the standards.

Don’t feel helpless though. Don’t let the devil tear you down and tell you “See! Sinner ka pa din kahit may ministry ka! You don’t deserve to serve kasi epal ka! Wag ka na mag-serve!”
When faced with the reality of sin, instead of running away, we must draw closer to Christ. Confess the sin to Him, ask for forgiveness and His help to overcome it.

Let’s keep an eye on our motives so that MINISTRY does not become “ME-NISTRY.”

John 3:30
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (ESV)