June #jammed: Under the Blanket of Grace.

Day 162: Raise a Hand.

“If you are recognized at all, let it be for your service. Delight in the one who calls you servant.” Matthew 23:11

Will I ever stop volunteering to exhaustively fill up my calendar? Hopefully, never. I know Who’s behind my raised hand.

Jesus deals with hypocrisy a lot in the sermon that today’s verse is a part of. And in the past I have learned hard lessons about hypocritical feelings when I can’t fulfill my commitments on account of my lack of patience and prayerful consideration before raising my hand.

But, Christians are called to serve. Raising a hand is never a bad thing. I’m sure many have the opposite problem. But for me, and I assume many other Doer/Relaters like me (Thank you, Jennifer Dukes Lee), raising a hand kills two personality needs with one flail of the arm.

When we neglect our time in prayer and in the Word with God before we volunteer to save the world, we set ourselves up to be hypocritical. Suddenly, we’re not serving with a servant’s heart. We’re serving with a regretful heart, and overtasked heart, an entitled heart. Either way, it’s yucky. I’m not sure what this type of poor scheduling does to you, but it makes me crazy …snappy, yell-at-the-kids-in-the-backseat of my car kind of nutty.

We must prayerfully consider whether what we are raising our hand for, will do anyone any good by the time we’ve flipped out and freaked everyone else out in the process of doing it. It’s hard to say ‘no.’ I don’t know why we’re wired that way, but we really are wired that way.

When disciplining kids, telling them  “no” is sometimes the best thing for them. “No,” or sitting on our hands if we have to, is sometimes the best decision for us and everyone around us. That way, we can pour our hearts joyfully into the things we prayerfully say ‘yes’ to.

Father, Praise You for addressing hypocrisy in the Bible. Thank You for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and the example He walked out here on earth. Forgive us for overtasking ourselves, and help us to know what a good and effective way to serve You looks like in our lives. In Jesus’Name, Amen. 

Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace! 

#greatgrace17

Happy De-hypocriting,

Megs

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