Living Beyond Yourself

It was my week for the pastor's column in the Pine City Pioneer. If you live in Pine, you should get a subscription as the new editor, Traci LeBrun, is doing a fabulous job.

If you don't have a subscription or live nearby, here's a copy of the column: 

Living Beyond Yourself

There’s a term that has become popular in the media recently called “quiet quitting.” It’s where people do the least amount of work possible to get by – giving minimal effort - but never go above and beyond in doing their jobs. Commentators are debating whether or not workers are “quiet quitting” their jobs and if the cause is pandemic related or simply a new generational trend. I’m a little skeptical that this is as widespread as some people think, and even more so after a recent experience of my own.

I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to join with several other people who are on the launch team for the new Pine City chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. SHP is a non-profit organization the builds and delivers beds for kids who don’t have one. Their goal is to work to ensure that “no kid sleeps on the floor in our town.”

Almost a dozen people spent several hours on a Saturday morning sanding wood, drilling holes, and assembling the beds that will be given to families in need. As I watched people work, it struck me how many had given of their valuable free time to come together and serve kids they had never met.

What is it in someone that would motivate them to sacrifice a weekend morning to give?

It was not just this one morning, though. This group had committed many hours of their time over months, pledging many more in the future to getting this project off the ground. Of course, it’s not just people giving their time to help build beds. There are hundreds of people in our town who volunteer thousands of hours each month in a wide variety of non-profits, churches, and community organizations. Volunteerism is alive and well, especially in rural areas such as ours.

This kind of generosity and sacrifice of time, money, and energy is something that goes deep in humanity. Christians believe it’s because we were created to give and serve – it’s the image of God reflected in us. We believe in a God who was the ultimate giver. He gives life and breath, and most importantly, he gives us grace and mercy through his son Jesus, who models for us a life of giving and service. I have a friend who likes to say, “You’re never more like Jesus than when you serve.”

Study after study has borne out the fact that people who are generous with their time and resources are the happiest people. The author of Ecclesiastes did his own study a couple thousand years ago. He spends twelve chapters wrestling with what really matters in life and what brings true satisfaction. He tries to find happiness in academia, alcohol, acquisition and achievement. He says “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (Eccl. 2:9-10) In the end, he discovers that when we focus on ourselves, we find life to be “meaningless.”

Part of the idea of “quiet quitting” may be a result of people feeling that what they do isn’t going to make a difference and that things will never change. I bet those who have found a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction by helping others would argue against that point of view.

The wonderful thing about serving others is that it’s something anyone can do.