Working around my house has gotten to be an interesting
adventure. No matter what I am doing, whether it is folding laundry,
washing dishes, or cooking (especially if I'm making cookies),
my two-year old daughter comes running and announces "I wanna
help!" Now, my definition of "help" and her definition
are two quite different things. From my point of view, having
Deborah "help" means that I am stepping over her or
around her, wiping soapsuds out of my hair, cleaning up after
a bag of flour has been dumped out onto the table, answering a
gazillion questions, and folding each article of clothing at least
twice. Deborah, on the other hand, simply thinks "helping"
is being involved in everything I do to the fullest extent that
I will allow her to be (and she often wishes that I would allow
her to "help" more). I am highly flattered that she
wants to spend time with me, and I appreciate her willingness
to try to make my job easier. I am also painfully aware that she
is watching every move I make and is constantly learning from
me. What I appreciate most, though, is the lesson her attitude
has taught me about my participation in the church.
My daughter usually doesn't check to see what
I am doing before volunteering to assist me. In fact, many times,
the statement "I wanna help!" is followed by "Whatcha
doing?" She doesn't care what the job is; she just assumes
that I need her help. We need many, many more Christians in the
church with that attitude. Too often when a project is presented
to the congregation, we will analyze it to death to see what the
bare minimum is that we can get away with doing. We slump back
in our seats and try to see if others will volunteer first. If
we do agree to help, we begrudge the time taken out of our busy
schedules or complain about the way the work is organized. Sometimes
we may think that the work is beneath us or, on the other hand,
that perhaps somebody better qualified can do the job more efficiently
than we can.
All Christians should be vitally interested in
all of the work of the church. Although men are directed by the
Lord to have the public roles in the church, there is much that
we as ladies can do. The prophet Isaiah had an excellent attitude
for us to emulate: "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying,
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am
I; send me." (Isaiah 6:8) At that point Isaiah didn't know
what God wanted him to say; he just knew God wanted someone to
do work. God doesn't actually need our help any more than I really
need my daughter's help. However, God in His wisdom has appointed
the work of the church to mankind, as shown in I Corinthians 1:21:
"For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom
knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to
save them that believe." Whenever we see something that needs
to be done, we should be there saying "I wanna help!"
serving God with "all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy strength, and with all thy mind" (Luke 10:27).
-29 Flora Drive, Bedford, OH 44146. Drkenney@att.net