Show me

Recently I had the opportunity to hire a few people to clean up and paint inside a couple rent houses. One of the people we hired was very experienced but the other wasn’t. Although we hired them to do a job so that we wouldn’t have to, my wife Jade and I enjoy seeking out these kinds of opportunities to encourage people. This time I knew it may take me showing them how to do the job right before I was going to leave them on their own.

People have different ways about how to manage an employee. Some take the approach that if they’re going to pay someone then they better know how to do whatever it is they’re being paid for, which that might mean they may not offer advice or direction, instead they just let them do whatever they do on their own. Other managers micromanage every step of their employee. They’ll come in behind them and change everything they’ve done, or tell them how to do their job. Then I suppose there are the kinds of managers who just accept whatever work is done and don’t say anything about errors, even though it’s eating them up inside. But there are also the kinds of managers that will show a worker how to do the work.

Oddly enough, I was reminded of the need to take the time out to show people how they should do the work they’re asked to do by watching my daughter's soccer game. There are times when a kid needs the coach to tell them or show them what to do, but there are also times that their spirit needs coaching. What happens when the drive to succeed isn’t in a player? It may be tempting to view them as non-coachable, but perhaps they just need to see “a drive” or passion modeled for them.

The interesting thing about desires is that they can be shaped by outside influence. Satan has been working diligently to shape our minds on what we should desire, but what is God doing through us?

For my daughter, I knew she enjoyed winning a game and receiving a trophy because the first time she got a trophy she spent what seemed like hours sitting at the dining room table polishing it. She enjoyed the prize, but her problem was finding the passion and desire to improve. She plays hard, but like many kids her age, she needs direction and guidance on how to be better at what she’s doing.

There are many people who genuinely want the prize of heaven but they don’t know how to find the desire to live for it. What do they need? They need someone to show them how to be excited about living for God’s purposes in our lives. They need to hear people talk about their faith in ways that don’t just seem like pledging allegiance to a group of people. They need someone to show them how to live for the promise.

Thankfully, Jesus was the answer for the people of His day, and He’s the answer today. We need someone who can model a passion for God and a fixation on the promises of God.

Paul encourages the Thessalonians to “keep the fire alive” by not “sleeping” spiritually as so many people do. Instead he says in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another.”

Paul goes on to describe how that might take place. He says in 1 Thessalonians 5:12, “Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work…(16-17) Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

First of all, the leaders were doing the “work.” They had modeled what Paul encourages the brothers and sisters in Christ to do by “warning those who are lazy. Encouraging those who are timid. Taking tender care of those who are weak. Being patient with everyone.”

As Christians, we need to constantly evaluate our motives and ask ourselves, “How is my desire to do God’s work impacting those watching me?” There are people who are watching us, but we need to be willing to take them aside and help them discover what it is about living for God that develops passion for his promises.

Let’s be proactive in showing our desire for God to the world. Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”