Continued from…Not To Be Ministered Unto – Part 1

 

How different it would be if, like the Son of Man, we always “came NOT TO BE MINISTERED UNTO.” Take a few illustrations.

Are You Slighted?

You are slighted, ignored, brushed aside. Or your employer, or employee, does not show you proper consideration. Or your neighbor does not treat you with the respect which is due to your position, your abilities, your character. You feel it very much; in fact, you are upset about it. Why? Is it because you came to minister, and were deprived of the privilege? No, not that at all. It is because your feelings, your rights, your gifts, your position, your dignity, your importance were not recognized. YOU were not ministered unto. And you came to be ministered unto. Hence the storm!

Are You Jealous?

Or consider that most hateful thing, Jealousy. What is it? Another is praised or put before you. Another does better than you. Another is more fortunate than you. The honor, the success, the money, the popularity, the reward has gone to him. You wanted it for yourself. You came to be ministered unto. And because he has been ministered unto, and not you, you are jealous!

Not Right to Ignore Me

“But it was not right,” you say, “he had no business to ignore me, to snub me, to treat me as he did. And it was most unjust; that other person ought not to have been placed over my head.”

That may be perfectly true, and we make no excuse for wrong and injustice. But you are a disciple of Jesus (I am speaking only to such), and I ask you—if you had come, like your Master, “NOT TO BE MINISTERED UNTO, but to minister,” would you be feeling so sore and angry and jealous? The trouble is, you came to be ministered unto.

Not Praised

You have been kind to someone. You have rendered him a service. It has cost you something to do it. Naturally you thought your goodness would be appreciated. And it wasn’t, at least not as much as you think it ought to have been. You expected profuse thanks and quite a little fuss to be made over it; and your friend took it cooly. You are disgusted. You wish you hadn’t helped him. And you feel half inclined to say in your haste you will never do anybody a kindness again! Why? You have ministered unto another: you have helped someone who was in need. Yes, but you have not been ministered unto. You wanted to be thought exceedingly good and kind and generous. That is to say, you expected to be ministered unto by the thanks and praise, and a little flattery too, perhaps, of the other. Yes, when we come to be ministered unto we do meet sometimes with severe shocks!

Not Consulted

You are a person of excellent taste, sound judgment, good common sense. And you find your advice has been ignored—perhaps it was not even asked in a matter, too, in which you pose as an authority. You cannot understand it. You feel rubbed the wrong way. Your spirit within you is ruffled. Your equilibrium is quite disturbed. What is the trouble? Is it that you came wanting to minister to your friend, and by neglecting to take your advice he has got himself into a sad mess? Not at all. As it happens, he has managed very nicely indeed without your help. The trouble is this: you have not been acknowledged. Your reputation as an “authority” in the matter of taste or judgment has not been ministered unto. You came not to minister but to be ministered unto. And you have been disappointed!

Are You a Public Speaker?

You had been announced to speak on a special occasion. A good audience assembled, and you noticed with peculiar satisfaction that Mr. X, a well-known and influential Christian man, was present. You had a great subject, and waxed very eloquent. At the close you felt extremely pleased with yourself, and you naturally expected Mr. X to come up at once, grasp your hand, and thank you warmly “for such an able, interesting, and moving address.”

But Mr. X walked quietly out of the hall without a word! How crestfallen you were! The joy you had felt was extinguished like a snuffed-out candle! How was this? You had the opportunity of ministering to a number of people. But this was not quite what you came for. In your heart of hearts you wanted that speech to minister unto you. It is the old trouble again. You came to be ministered unto.

Continued on… Not To Be Ministered Unto – Part 3

 

Quicklinks to additional postings:
Not To Be Ministered Unto – Part 1
Not To Be Ministered Unto – Part 2
Not To Be Ministered Unto – Part 3
Not To Be Ministered Unto – Part 4