Romans 16:18

Several years ago, I was struggling to define more clearly my sense of calling. I had been serving the Lord as a pastor for many years. I loved most of my pastoral work, but felt especially fulfilled when I was studying, teaching, and writing about God’s truth in Scripture and its implications for our lives. I found myself less enamored with some of the administrative duties associated with pastoral ministry, tasks for which my personality and gifting were not ideally suited. I wondered if God might be calling me to a new focus for my pastoral ministry, one that used my gifts and talents more effectively.

Yet I seriously questioned my motivations. Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 18 challenged me to consider why I wanted to spend more time with some pastoral tasks than with others. Was I responding to God’s call? Or was I serving my own personal interests, to use the language of Saint Paul. Was I unwilling to take up my cross and follow Jesus, even if that cross, for me, meant managing budgets and writing reports, rather than communicating God’s Word? Did I have any right to believe that I should enjoy serving Christ?.

When Paul criticizes certain people as not serving Christ but instead serving “their own personal interests,” he uses the Greek word koilia. Literally, this word referred to the digestive system. Figuratively, it denoted one’s base desires. The self-serving ministers whom Paul criticizes were not taking delight in being used by God for his work. Rather, they were using ministry as a means of gaining fleshly pleasures, perhaps power or glory or money.

All of us who serve the Lord must, with God’s help, scrutinize our hearts, because all of us have mixed motives. Our Christian service should be first and foremost for the Lord.

Romans 16:18, however, does not negate the possibility of feeling joy in serving Christ. The Lord wants us to be happy when we serve Him. We serve Him in different ways: and the ways that give us most happiness in serving Him are the best ways for us.

Mark Roberts (Mark was a pastor of a very large church, but felt the Lord calling him to serve Him in ways in which he was most gifted and happy.)