I’ve lived long enough to notice outcomes. I’ve watched family members make seemingly small bad choices that morphed exponentially into heartache that hounded their steps for decades. That choice to skip church and slip away from church friends. That first bad friend. That first little dabbling into alcohol or drugs. That move away from home. It set them up for opportunities to slide into more bad choices. It helped them gravitate to people who were making bad choices. It set them up for heartache. Each choice to step away from the good had consequences that couldn’t have been imagined.

You may think I’m overstating the situation. Just one step away from obedience can’t wreck your life, can it? No, it doesn’t have to. If we recognize what we did wrong, ask for forgiveness, and turn to do the right thing, we receive God’s patient grace and a second chance. But if we insist on going our own way and refuse to walk the hard, but happy road of obedience, we can expect sad consequences.  Obedience often looks like how we’re showing up to serve others.  Service seems to be a good indicator of where we are with God. (Not the only indicator, because we can serve for the wrong reasons.) If we’re not lovingly serving others though, it’s doubtful that we truly love God.

Maybe that’s why I cringed this week when a young person I had high hopes for stepped away from an opportunity to serve God and others. This teen is equipped by God for this particular service. It would have been a golden opportunity to grow, to become established in an important role, to invest in others, and to be in the company of faithful people. But she allowed the busyness of life to steal the opportunity. I wished I could have told her about a girl who, at her age didn’t have the privileges she does, but the girl kept saying ‘Yes’ to God. Over and over, even when he asked her to prepare to serve the less fortunate overseas.  Even when he asked her to keep going when she didn’t have parents to take care of her. Even when he asked her to leave what little she had to go to Bible school where, incidentally, she met her beloved husband of 52 years. I wish I could have told her about my friend who kept saying, ‘Yes’ to God in high school. Even when he prompted her to stand up for her faith in the face of a faithless teacher. Incidentally, her courage attracted a young man in her class who is now her beloved husband and the dedicated father of their four thriving children.  I was saddened again later this week when the parents of a large family declined the opportunity for their kids to serve at church. Their kids are bright and willing to be involved, but their parents aren’t willing to give up their Sunday mornings to go to church where their kids could learn to serve. Not a good example to set for their kids. I shudder when I think of the repercussions down that road.

Little and big ‘Yes’es form a lifetime of faithfulness that bring peace and happiness. Those consistent, ‘Yes’es protect from soul harm and evil. I want to keep making a habit of saying, ‘Yes, Lord,’ every time I see a God-appointed opportunity. I see the happiness and fulfillment of those who have done so for decades. I see the heartache of those who have said, ’No, not this time. You see, I’m so busy.’ In reality, they’re saying, ’Putting God first is too hard. I have things I want to do.’

Some folks have given up on serving because they were disappointed with the results. Over the years I’ve learned the hard way that the results aren’t in our control. We can work, sacrifice, and serve unselfishly yet the outcome can be very discouraging. I know now that success isn’t measured by results, but by whether the deeds were done from a heart of love for God and others.

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3″

The results don’t make our service acceptable or not. We may never see good results from our efforts. Often in fact, our work doesn’t accomplish what we’d hoped. Think of the Old Testament prophets who poured themselves into warning God’s people, yet their people refused to listen.  Isaiah said, “Who has believed our message?”  and “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—”  Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet because he saw impending heartache, but the people ignored his warnings.  God knew the prophet Ezekiel would need a way to deal with his people’s stubbornness.  ^“I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are a rebellious people.”

I’m learning that we aren’t responsible for the response of others and their outcomes. Only God can accomplish spiritual work by moving people’s hearts. We aren’t junior Holy Spirits. We can’t convince anyone to change. That’s God’s job. Our job is to faithfully do what we’re told to do. God is pleased with our offering. He sees our sacrifice and rewards us himself.

“In that day Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Throne of the Lord.’ All nations will come there to honor the Lord. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires.”  Jeremiah 3:17

“Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers.” 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

When we step back from serving, we step back from blessing. We miss contentment, faith-growing opportunities, protection, satisfaction, rewards, deeper relationships, and fulfillment. Every time we refuse an opportunity God gives us, we cheat ourselves out of happiness and we put ourselves at risk.

Let’s faithfully serve others as God enables and compels us to.