This is a revision of an earlier blog article.
The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables.
Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2-4)
Obviously, the apostles were dropping the ball in terms of making sure all the widows were getting fed.
But what was their answer? To be more faithful in fulfilling those duties?
That certainly would have been one option.
But to be faithful in doing those duties would have been problematic. Why? Because those duties, important as they were, were not what God had called the apostles to do.
They were called to preach the word and to pray. For the apostles, to faithfully serve the widows would have meant not being faithful in preaching the word and praying. After all, a person has only so many hours in a day.
And that’s why they delegated the ministry of feeding the widows to the deacons. By doing so, the apostles could focus on what God wanted them to do.
It is so easy to get caught up in doing things, even good and necessary things, and yet neglect to be faithful in doing what God has called you to do.
So recently, I took some time to reflect. “What do I need be doing? What has God asked of me? And what has he not?”
And after praying on it, there was one ministry I decided to step back from.
We are called to do what God has asked us to do. No more, no less.
To do less is disobedience.
To do more, especially over an extended period of time, can lead to dropped balls, and even worse, to burnout.
And God doesn’t want us burning out. He wants us to burn brightly.
What is God asking you to do?