WHY SHOULD I CONTINUE TO CARE WHEN OTHERS DO NOT SEEM TO CARE? Do you ever get frustrated? I am pretty certain that I know your answer to that question without asking. Guess what: the rest of us also get frustrated from time to time. Sometimes we get really perturbed with ourselves and our shortcomings. However, on other occasions it is the action, or lack thereof, on the part of others, particularly other saints of God, that causes us to be bummed out. We may even find ourselves wondering out loud, What is the use? If other people do not care enough to do what they ought to be doing, then why should I keep on trying to do what is right? If my spouse does not seem to care about the stability and success of our marriage, why should I care? If my family members do not seem to care about attending Bible classes, why should I care? If my friends do not seem to care about living a godly life, why should I care? If others that sit on my pew during worship do not seem to care about singing, why should I care? If others do not care about the lost, why should I care about them? If others have signed up to help in some benevolent work of the congregation, but they rarely show up to help, why should I care enough to stay with it? Satan must be all smiles when he sees God’s children contemplating throwing in the towel or shutting down their involvement in the Lord’s work because they observe that some brothers or sisters are, in their judgment, falling down on the job. Most of us have probably known Christians that expressed frustration due to the apparent lack of zeal or faithfulness in the lives of some members of the church. Perhaps you and I have even been among those who considered giving up or saying Just forget it when we noticed that some saints seem unconcerned, uninvolved, and uncommitted. Moses became frustrated with the murmuring of the children of Israel, but he did not quit serving the Lord God just because others did not love Him with all of their heart and soul (Deuteronomy 10:12). Caleb and Joshua stood against the ten other spies, plus the multitude that accepted the propaganda of the ten (Numbers 13:30; 14:1-10). They refused to let others’ lack of faith and vision hinder them from being faithful to Jehovah. The prophet Ezekiel had to deal with a hard-headed, hard-hearted, rebellious group of Jews (Ezekiel 2:3,4), but he did not allow their lack of loyalty to the Lord cause him to throw up his arms in defeat and cease his efforts to teach and live by the will of God. Jesus had to put up with the immaturity and bickering of His apostles. Yet, He remained loyal to them and loved them unto the end (John 13:1). He came down from heaven to do the will of the Father that sent Him (John 6:38). If His apostles sometimes had trouble getting along with each other or demonstrated a lack of understanding of His teaching, did that in any way change His task? No. Giving up or quitting was never an option for our Lord. Do you suppose that the apostle Paul ever noticed a lack of effort in some Christians? By the Spirit, he once declared, For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s (Philippians 2:21). In that context, he spoke of Timothy being the exception to that rule in that particular time and place. But, the point is, Paul did not allow any shortcoming on the part of others to hold him back from doing what he needed to do. Shepherds of the flock may get frustrated by the members’ lack of interest in the work that they set forth for the congregation. Still, they must continue to take heed to the flock (Acts 20:28) and to watch for the souls of those under their oversight (Hebrews 13:17). Deacons may often feel that their efforts are not appreciated, or that the only time they ever hear from anyone is when somebody is unsatisfied with their work. Why should frustrated deacons stay with the job, giving it their very best? Because they know that God wants them to be those who have served well as deacons (1 Timothy 3:13, NKJV). Why should gospel preachers keep on preaching the truth with passion, even though during their lessons they regularly see Christians with wandering eyes, closed eyes, never-looking-at-the-Bible eyes, or constantly -looking-at-the-time eyes? Why? Because their task is to preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2), and that has nothing to do with people’s reaction to or attitude toward God’s message. Brother or sister, if you are a Bible class teacher, you need to keep on teaching with all diligence, regardless of how your students behave. If they incessantly arrive late, come without their Bibles, will not sit still, will not listen attentively, and seemingly have no interest in learning, what are you to do? Deep down inside, you know that saying, If they do not care enough to be good students, then I do not see why I should care enough to try and be a good teacher, is nothing but a copout. Teachers, remember Galatians 6:9, and hang in there. Big news: the congregation is going to have a door knocking in preparation for its gospel meeting. Breaking news (it is really old news): hardly any members show up to help distribute meeting ads. Hey, if it is like this year in and year out, time after time, if others do not care enough to help, why should I bother showing up? Big news: the gospel meeting lasts for four or five days. Breaking news (it is really the same old, same old): many members do not plan to attend every session, and because they have no such plan, they fail to attend and thus miss the benefits that the preaching of the gospel provides for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6). Hey, why should I bother attending when I see that so many others do not seem to make attendance a priority? Why should I continue to care about my soul and the Lord’s Cause when others do not seem to care? Let me give you three reasons. First, I need to keep caring and keep living for the Lord because my responsibility to the Lord does not change, regardless of what others might do or not do. My obligation to take up my cross daily and follow Jesus has nothing to do with anyone else’s service or lack thereof (Luke 9:23). Second, I need to keep caring and keep living for the Lord because I will receive the crown of life only if I am faithful to the end (Hebrews 3:6,12,14; 2 Timothy 4:6-8). Quitting would disqualify me and prevent me from reaching my number one goal, which is to live forever in heaven. Third, I need to keep caring and keep living for the Lord because I need to be a good example for others, no matter what. The charge for Titus to show himself a pattern of good works (Titus 2:7) was not dependent on the conduct of others. What kind of logic says that it is acceptable to be a lousy example because other people are not the kind of model that they should be?! My careless, poor example just might disappoint other saints to the point of causing them to be apathetic about being a good example. How grateful we ought to be that Jesus cared enough for us to die for our sins – His love must motivate us (2 Corinthians 5:14). Let us make certain that we do not give in to the devil’s temptation to stop caring and serving the Lord just because some members of His church appear to be unhappy, unconcerned, uninvolved, and uncommitted. -- Roger D. Campbell
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 09:49:49 +0000
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