Full service or self-serve?
Grand Sweep Daily Reading: Joshua 22, 23, 24
Joshua 24:14-15 (NIV)
14 Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Good morning!
When I was a young girl, I enjoyed riding in the car with my father to the filling station. I liked going there because I knew that my father would buy me an ice cold soda pop from the machine sitting just outside the cashier’s desk. This was when Coca-Cola came in glass bottles, and you could actually return them and receive a rebate for your recycling effort. Every filling station had full-service attendants. We were greeted by a smiling face every time we pulled up to the pump. The attendants went out of their way to provide our family with quality automotive service. It seemed as if they were always waiting in the wings for our arrival. Running out to our car from inside the station, they would meticulously wash our windshield; check the air in our tires, oil for the engine, while happily pumping our gasoline. Sometimes, the attendant would pull a piece of hard candy from their pants pocket and slip it into my hand. No matter what the weather, we could depend upon the faithful and friendly service of our filling station attendants.
When self-service pumps became popular in the mid 1970s, going to the filling station was no longer the same enjoyable experience. There were no smiling faces or helpful hands to greet us when we arrived. We couldn’t sit in the car any more and wait to be pampered by an automotive professional. “Get it yourself,” seemed to be the prevailing message. Even the Coca-Cola bottles were replaced by aluminum cans. Now, in the age of “pay at the pump” stations, we no longer have to go inside to pay our bill. We can simply pull up to the pump and buy our gasoline without experiencing any human contact at all. No smile, no warm greeting, no one to thank. Full service has become a fleeting memory, as the age of serving oneself is ushered in.
Joshua was dying. He had faithfully led the Israelites into the Promised Land while providing instruction and guidance from the Lord. Now, in his final appeal, Joshua reminds the people to get rid of the man-made idols that distract and prayed His people would choose this day and every day thereafter to serve the Lord God Almighty. For those who turned away, there would be devastating consequences. People would perish outside the fold. Do you know of anyone who may be perishing today because they have placed a greater value on their man-made idols than on the Lord?
Our church is like a full-service filling station. People come to worship each week with a desire to be filled up with the Holy Spirit of the Lord. Seeking a closer walk with God, they pray and confess their sin, looking to receive God’s forgiveness, and to glean teaching and instruction that will help them through the days of their life. Is your church a full-service filling station, where congregants willingly serve the Lord by happily serving each another? Or would you describe your church as a self-service station, where human contact is limited; every person pays at the pump and leaves with a half-empty tank and nothing else?
Man-made idols are carved from the self-centeredness in our hearts. Will we choose be more like the gasoline attendants from years gone by, who did not hesitate to offer a helping hand to the stranger in need? Will our genuine smiles and outstretched hands reveal the living Christ in us? Choose this day whom you will serve. Are you serving yourself or are you serving the Lord?
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
www.songofdeborah.com
Pray for: God to reveal the things that separate you from Him. Ask the Lord to give you the grace and wisdom needed to identify and release the man-made idols in your life. When we humble our hearts and turn around, He is waiting to receive us once again.
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© Copyright 2007, Deb Spaulding
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