Are You Volunteering Too Much?
God loves volunteers.
Deuteronomy 23 says: 21 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.
God loves volunteers. He loves the University of Tennessee. He loves those who willingly give of their time to serve in the local church. He loves those who give up their Spring Break or a week of vacation to go on a mission trip. He loves those who believe in service.
Ok, so here comes the caveat: God cautions us on our volunteerism. Huh? Gotta love the bait-and-switch. Sometimes we volunteer too much. Some people have a habit of volunteering too much personal information online. Some people volunteer too easily to participate in a crime. Some people volunteer too quickly to share their homework with others who have no desire to do their own hard work. And some people volunteer too quickly in vowing to do something, especially to the Lord.
We often get this antiquated view of vows, where someone says: I swear I’ll do … (as a result of something God has blessed them with, protected them from, etc.). The reality is, most people don’t go into a church, stand before the altar or the cross, or in some time of deep meditation, and make these big showy vows. They most often come in the form of: I’m going to do…, or I’m thankful for … and so I’m going to go and …, and the ever popular Sure, pastor, I’d love to …
And we can let our imaginations go from there.
No one is more thankful for those who volunteer in the church than a pastor is. That is one of the great ways that the Lord grows people in their faiths. It gets us outside of ourselves. I think this is one of the strong points of vows in Old Testament times. People were willing to invite God into their circumstances so that He could hear their hurts, their thanksgivings, and He could measure their desire to grow in faith. In those early days after the Exodus, vows were a great way to respond to what God had done. Vows were a great way to establish and strengthen the community. It forced people to take their words seriously, because God was watching and listening, and so was the community. Vows were much more public at that time.
A lot has changed. People almost don’t recognize a vow when they hear it any more because it has so many different faces. There used to be a cadence and structure to vows, but as language has evolved, so has the way in which we seek to communicate. People were careful in those days. Now, we may say something and not even realize that a vow has been spoken.
Does that negate it? Not at all. That is what the Lord is warning us about in this passage. Be careful what passes from your lips; it might just be a vow and God might expect it to be fulfilled. Our good intentions need a little follow-through.
That is hard for us as humans. We have so many good intentions. We have to realize that we can’t accomplish all of those good intentions. We want to save the world, but we can’t do everything. We must be careful in how we choose to save the world or serve the Kingdom of God. No one person will convert the entire world to the way of Jesus; stop trying. Narrow down those good intentions before they turn into vows. Then, realistically pick what you can do and don’t apologize for what you can’t do. You have other obligations that need to be addressed.
God understands that we can’t do everything. Perhaps as Moses was giving these words to the people of Israel, he was seeing the 21st century world we live in with everyone trying to do it all and change the world. God knows the human heart and how we want to do the right thing. And that’s why He loves volunteers who are willing to sacrifice for something greater. He just wants to make sure that change happens and good intentions don’t remain just good intentions.
So seek the Lord for what you want to voluntarily do. He’ll help you realize what you can and can’t do. Don’t try to second-guess Him or challenge how He created you. Amen.
Great read. Before I read this blog I was thinking about the meeting this morning and thought I really need to pray and ask God for His direction and guidance as to what I can commit to doing and affirmation came in the last paragraph of your blog.
We can all use a dose of God’s direction and understanding. We often want to reject how He created us for the sake of wanting to please Him and the church. We just can’t do it all. I need to realize that every day just as much as the next person. Appreciate your thoughts Vicki.