You may not consider yourself a minister. You may think that title is reserved for the person who stands in your pulpit and preaches. The truth is anyone who serves is by literal interpretation a minister. So if you are working toward using your gifts to serve the Lord and others, if you’re doing creative arts ministry, you are a minister and there is something you need to know. GOD First.
Now you may think, “well duh!” but there’s more to that statement than meets the eye. You see as you minister, the line can become mighty blurry. I was in some ministerial ethics training over the weekend and this is one of the areas we looked at. You see as you move more and more into the service of others, demands arise. People will want more and more of your time and if you fail to deliver, they will sometimes act as if you are not putting God first. That may be how they perceive it, but that’s not how it actually is.
To live this life properly, we need to put God first. I know few believers who would disagree with that statement. The thing is there is a difference between God and ministry. God is first, but many people can’t see the difference between what you do for God and what you do for them. Serving them is, in their minds, putting God first. I hope you can see the idolatry in that statement because if you can’t, your priorities are about to get way out of whack.
I am of the opinion that God is first and ministry can never be more than number three (and sometimes further down the list), with family coming second and far in front of ministry. The reason for this is simple. God Himself said nothing shall be put before Him. Beyond that, God is our source of power for every other relationship in this life. Without Him it’s all pointless, He must be first. Next comes family. These are the first people God entrusted to us and must be our first responsibility. Let the family relationship get out of whack and your effectiveness in ministry and all other roles will be severely impacted. Also consider this, those same people that demand to be your first priority will also be the first to turn on you when your marriage suffers or your children rebel.
It’s most important to have God first, just make sure that what you’re putting first is really God and not just the demands of self-centered people who ought to know better.
Coddling that behavior is not ministry.
AMOKArts 