do it in order to give it away. They use the wealth to fund God’s
church and its mission in the world.
At Saddleback Church, we have a group of CEOs and business
owners who are trying to make as much as they can so they can
give as much as they can to further the kingdom of God. I
encourage you to talk with your pastor and begin a KingdomServants think about their work, not what others are
doing.They don’t compare, criticize, or compete with other
servants or ministries. They’re too busy doing the
work God has given them.
Competition between God’s servants is illogical
for many reasons: We’re all on the same team; our
goal is to make God look good, not ourselves;
we’ve been given different assignments; and we’re
all uniquely shaped. Paul said, “We will not
compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and
another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our
lives. Each of us is an original.”^10
There’s no place for petty jealousy between servants. When
you’re busy serving, you don’t have time to be critical. Any time
spent criticizing others is time that could be spent ministering.
When Martha complained to Jesus that Mary was not helping
with the work, she lost her servant’s heart. Real servants don’t
complain of unfairness, don’t have pity-parties, and don’t resent
those not serving. They just trust God and keep serving.
It is not our job to evaluate the Master’s other servants. The
Bible says, “Who are you to criticize someone else’s servant? The Lord
will determine whether his servant has been successful.”^11 It is also
not our job to defend ourselves against criticism. Let your Master
handle it. Follow the example of Moses, who showed true
humility in the face of opposition, as did Nehemiah, whose
response to critics was simply, “My work is too important to stop
now and... visit with you.”^12
The Purpose-Driven Life 268DAY THIRTY-
FOUR:
THINKING
LIKE A
SERVANT
Builders’ group in your church. For help see appendix 2.