What prompts us to serve??

I have been using Oswald Chambers 'My Utmost for His Highest' during my devotion time recently and each day there has been a phrase or a thought or something that has really got me thinking and today was no different. But I thought I would share the particular thought that got me thinking today!!

"It is easier to serve or work for God without a vision and without a call, because then you are not bothered by what He requires. Common sense, covered with a layer of Christian emotion, becomes your guide."

My thinking around this is not very clear at the moment, so in a sense I am thinking out loud. Where I'm kind of headed with it is a sense of hiding from God in our service to Him...denying our true calling or even blocking it out and instead deciding ourselves where or what we should do to serve - therefore is that for our own ends and not for God's glory. Yet will He use it to make something good come from it - yes?...because He can.

But then on the flipside my mind goes to why would you bother serving if it wasn't ultimately for God's glory - is that where the 'christian emotion' comes in? Knowing the theories, the words to say, what is expected of a christian...and then doing it!!

Here I want to call in a term used by one of my favourite authors - Terry Pratchett in his discworld series. He writes about a group of witches (its purely for escapism and he is very very funny!!) and Granny Weatherwaxes form of magic is 'headology'...not hocus pocus but instead making someone believe something.

Is it a 'headology theology' of service...our head tells us and convinces us this is what we must do so we do it. Instead of a sacrifice that comes from a sense of compassion for others and wanting to share the gospel message...from the heart.

So is it easier to say that what we are doing is for God than actually listening for the small still voice of God to guide us to the task that he wants us to do. Are we looking for the recognition and taking the glory for ourself instead of directing it towards the One whose name in which we work and who deserves the glory? Are we scared to listen because the job we are asked to do will be too difficult...or even...too menial without any recognition?

I'm not sure if any of this makes any sense...I'm not even sure it makes any sense to me...so I'm just throwing it out there!!!


(Just to note, Oswald Chambers is not suggesting that we serve without a sense of call...it was his leading in to a thought on why we serve...to read a version of the full devotion check it out here)