I remember hearing a story about a kindergarten-aged girl who asked her Sunday school teacher, “What are we here for?”
Not wanting to miss a good teaching opportunity, the Sunday school teacher gave the question some serious thought before answering. And after carefully considering the age of her audience she said, “We’re here to help other people.”
The litte girl pondered this answer for a minute with deep thought which caused her little brow to furrow. And then, as if she had stumbled on a great revelation that perhaps the teacher had overlooked, she proudly asked, “Well then, what are the other people here for?”
Now, I don’t know about you, but that’s a question I’ve asked myself from time to time. And don’t get me wrong; I have a long way to go when it comes to selflessly helping others. But that doesn’t stop me from wondering why sometimes it seems that it’s always the same group of people who are doing the helping and another group of people that are always needing help. Is that the way it’s supposed to be? Did God put some people here just to be helpers and others just to be helped?
And, then it hit me. It’s not the answer that gives me a problem; it’s the question. It’s the wrong question. You see, we don’t need the answer in order to do the work we’re called to do. The question is irrelevant. Here’s what we need to understand: It doesn’t matter what the other people are here for. Our only concern should be what Paul writes about in Ephesians 2:10 where he says, “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
You see, when we ask the wrong question we will never be satisfied with the answer, no matter what it is. Look at it this way: When we’re looking for results from our work or questioning why we’re even doing the work rather than simply getting the joy from the work, we are missing part of the reason for doing the work in the first place. Because it doesn’t matter if it’s the same people who are always doing the helping and it doesn’t matter if another group is always needing the help. It’s not about any of that. Notice what it says in Ephesians 2:10. It says the work God has planned, has been “prepared in advance for us to do.” That means God planned the work even before the need arose. Now, I don’t claim to understand how it all works, but God does.
Listen to what Paul says in Galatians 6:9-10. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
So, the question is not, “What are the other people here for?” The question is, “Who are the other people? And, how can we help them?” Because the work is already planned. We just have to find the place to do it.
Thom Fishow
May 23, 2010